How delicious are those juices freshly squeezed from our own oranges! Or the lemons that so well accompany the paella on Sundays! But many of you contact us with questions about your citrus: why is it brown? Why doesn’t it have leaves? Citrus fruits are very delicate depending on where we have them, that’s why we are going to detail the diseases and pests that your citrus fruits may suffer in Badalona or Barcelona.
The citrus family includes trees and shrubs. Its fruits are key in a diet with Vitamin C and citric acid (just the two factors that make its fruits have that characteristic flavor). Depending on the space we have at home in a city like Badalona or Barcelona, we may have varieties such as oranges, tangerines, lemons or grapefruits. But everything good that has its fruit also has bad. And it is that the citrus family can suffer different phytosanitary problems: insects, fungi, bacteria, viruses, parasites … It seems that having citrus in the garden or terrace can be equivalent to playing the lottery in terms of diseases and pests. The problem is no longer just how it can affect the fruit directly, but also all the ‘extra’ diseases that this parasite carries when it reaches our garden
But do not spread panic! Keep reading to know the diseases and pests that can affect your citrus, check your trees for visitors and if you have any questions, contact us.
Citrus diseases
If you have a lemon, orange or tangerine tree at home, your trees may suffer:
- Bold: fight it with a fungicide only in the affected area. It is a fungus that can lead to aphid or mealybug pests.
- Geonosis: if you water your citrus too much there is a risk that it has an excess in the trunk and creates a type of gum. Use a fungicide to kill the gummy.
- Framing: the citrus is weakened by the attack of different fungi at the same time and loses its leaves. We are facing a serious disease that will be difficult to treat with homemade fungicides.
- Iron chlorosis: citrus suffers from a lack of iron, the leaves turn yellow and the nerves are marked green. It provides iron supplements to end iron chlorosis.
- Penicillium – The fruit is coated in a gray mold and can be cured using Copper Sulfate.
Citrus pests
- The Fly: a very common and annoying pest, the fly lays the eggs on the fruit causing it to rot.
- African psylla: bedbugs that feed on the sap of the citrus leaves in your garden. In this case, you have to look closely because the problem is under the leaves and is not visible at first glance.
- Whitefly: This pest is found in all kinds of crops, plants, fruits, etc.
- Red spider: very common in summer, you will see basically a small red spider that runs around the trunk and leaves of the citrus in your garden or terrace.
Prevention will be your best friend
Even if you have books about pests, diseases, types of citrus, care, etc., we recommend that you keep in mind the vigilance of your garden. Check from time to time the leaves of your plants, the trunks of your trees, smell their fruits, touch them … nature in your garden or terrace wants you to pamper it and to do preventive treatments. Also watch the amount of irrigation water, you know that little water will dry your garden, and a lot of it will puddle it and cause fungi to appear.
