Question

Citrus damage  

Citrus damage   Hello,

I have a problem with my citrus trees. The fruits on the trees are showing some damage. I attached some photos to show how it looks like. I am suspecting sweet orange scab fungus but I am not sure. I live in Texas.

Thanks for the help!

Answer
Dear Boutros, I apologize for the delay in answering your question.  Your problem does seem to be sweet orange scab.  The difference between this fungal disease and citrus scab is that the sweet orange scab tends to affect the fruit more often than the leaves, and affects sweet oranges, limes, lemons, and tangerines.  The fruit is still edible, but not good for selling the fruit.  Once the fruit is already scarred of course, it can't be fixed.  To control this problem in future, you will need to spray with the copper-based fungicides that are available for this problem.  Bonide and Ortho make these products as well as many other companies.  Since you live in Texas as I do, you should contact your local county extension agent.  They are listed under county offices, and they are a wealth of information.  In particular, you want to get the citrus spraying schedule.  It will tell you when to spray and with what to get the best possible yield from your citrus trees.  I have found these spraying schedules very helpful.  Be sure to follow all fungicide and pesticide directions exactly, and you never want to spray anything while your trees are flowering, because you can kill the bees who are there to pollinate for you. I hope this information helps you and I wish you the best of luck.  Please write back if you have further questions.  Melissa