International Journal of Horticulture, 2024, Vol.14, No.1, 18-30 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 28 Figure 6 Adoption status of variables of GAP in the survey area, 2022 (Source: Field Survey, 2022) Table 13 Ranking of the diseases observed in Mandarin Orchard in the survey area, 2022 Diseases P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Index value Rank Powdery mildew 68 20 7 2 1 0.91 I Footrot 43 33 9 9 4 0.80 II Sootymold 32 33 20 10 3 0.76 III Dieback 24 37 13 14 10 0.70 IV Citrus canker 18 30 32 13 5 0.68 V Note: P: signifies the priority of the disease according to severity; index value (1-0) denotes major to minor disease (Source: Field Survey, 2022) 2.7 Pests problem in the orchard Ranking of the pests was done by using an indexing technique. A higher index value represents a major pest while a low value represents a minor one. From the study, it was found that Fruit Fly was ranked as the major problematic pest with an index value of 0.94 followed by Lemon butterfly (0.79), stem borer (0.77), aphid (0.70), and Leaf miner a minor pest with an index value (0.65) (Table 14). The respondents reported that the larvae of fruitflies were observed in dropped fruits. Table 14 Ranking of the pests observed in Mandarin orchard in the survey area, 2022 Pests P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Index value Rank Fruitfly 69 24 - - - 0.948 I Lemon butterfly 34 31 20 6 2 0.791 II Stemborer 27 44 10 10 - 0.776 III Aphid 19 28 32 13 1 0.709 IV Leafminer 3 41 26 23 - 0.652 V Note: P: signifies the priority of the pest according to severity; index value (1-0) denotes major to minor pest (Source: Field Survey, 2022) 2.8 Production problems in the orchard Problems reported by the Mandarin growers were ranked using an indexing technique. Out of the total respondents, most of them responded to diseases and pest occurrence as the major problem with an index value of 0.9, and lack of subsidy and crop insurance access as the comparatively minor one among the listed problems with an index of 0.69 (Table 15). Farmers were also found deprived of scientific fruit production knowledge. They had to depend on rainfall to irrigate the field. Also, the timely availability and access to production and input materials seemed a pronounced hindrance in the research area.
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