Author Topic: Please help me identify this citrus rind condition.  (Read 2342 times)

Peaceful Jim

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Please help me identify this citrus rind condition.
« on: April 06, 2017, 02:07:37 AM »
Hello everyone,

I have a mature lemonade (lemon+mandarin hybrid) tree, and for as long as I can remember, the rind of the fruit has had some sort of mottled, rubbery condition.

This happens on about 95% of our fruit. When the fruit are small, about the size of a golf ball, they are still green, but as they grow more, they develop this condition. At the time of harvest, very few are all green.

This condition doesn't seem to be affecting the inside of the fruits at all. They taste good, they've got plenty of juice, and there are no other signs that this rind condition is having a negative effect internally.

As I mentioned, the rind turns a mottled brown, and the fruit are harder to cut (more rubbery). That's about as much information as I can give you, other than these pictures below.

This is one of our few normal fruit:



This is one of the majority of fruit that have this condition:



Any help in finding what this condition is, will be greatly appreciated!

Kind regards,

Peaceful Jim.

vlan1

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Re: Please help me identify this citrus rind condition.
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2017, 05:07:13 PM »
looks like a helluva spider mite infestion to me

Peaceful Jim

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Re: Please help me identify this citrus rind condition.
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2017, 07:47:22 PM »
Thanks for the input. I looked up mites, and while some images I saw did look sort of similar, there were a lot of differences between what I have and what was shown, and nothing looked like the fruit I have. For example, from what I saw, mites seem to cause fruit deformation, as well as leaf damage, and we do not have that problem.

Citradia

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Re: Please help me identify this citrus rind condition.
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2017, 08:41:32 PM »
I think melanose or maybe greasy spot. Either way, treatment is clean up dead leaf litter and remove dead wood and spray copper fungicide, per my University of FL diagnosis sheets.

mrtexas

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Re: Please help me identify this citrus rind condition.
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2017, 10:07:49 PM »
Thanks for the input. I looked up mites, and while some images I saw did look sort of similar, there were a lot of differences between what I have and what was shown, and nothing looked like the fruit I have. For example, from what I saw, mites seem to cause fruit deformation, as well as leaf damage, and we do not have that problem.

Mites turn the fruit brown.

SonnyCrockett

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Re: Please help me identify this citrus rind condition.
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2017, 11:16:22 PM »
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/citrus/l2316a.htm

See this link.  It show "mudcaking" symptoms from melanose.  Looks similar to your fruit. 

Could you post pictures of your leaves?  Do your leaves show any melanose symptoms?  Or mite damage?  Might point to the right direction.

What do you spray on your trees?  Are you using copper and/or Dormant oil?


vlan1

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Millet

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Re: Please help me identify this citrus rind condition.
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2017, 03:09:07 PM »
The picture of Peaceful Jim's damaged lemonade fruit seems to match the fruit seen on Sonny rocket's post.   I believe it is Mudcake Melanose.

Peaceful Jim

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Re: Please help me identify this citrus rind condition.
« Reply #8 on: April 08, 2017, 02:41:46 AM »
Thanks everyone. What my fruit have is definitely Melanose! Good to know that it really is only superficial.

Thanks again for all your help.

Kind regards,

Peaceful Jim.