SARGODHA: Pests and diseases are main causes of low production of citrus, which need government attention to boost this profitable business.
Kinno Growers Association President Hamid Saleem Waaraich said this in a statement. He said that citrus production is more than 30 fruits grown throughout the country with Punjab dominating in production as about 59 per cent of the total area and almost 64 percent of the production among citrus was captured by the kinnow alone.
Hamid said that kinnow growers were facing severe problems as they could not even meet the expenditures over kinnow production as the citrus canker was a threatening disease for its growth. He added that many commercial citrus varieties were moderately to highly susceptible to the disease with Kinnow being the most vulnerable one.
When the disease is severe, defoliation, dieback and fruit drop occur and infected fruits are less valuable or entirely unmarketable, he added.
He urged the government to conduct a thorough research and get a permanent solution avoiding the canker risk of citrus fields and also asked to enhance the export target by signing agreements with expanded foreign markets to support the dying citrus industry.
Citrus Research Director said that the main reason behind the citrus slump was that most of the farmers did not opt for modern pruning practices in their orchards as the modern ways of pruning controlled the diseases and insects and also enhance the fruit quality.
