Abstract:
Anthracnose disease that causes fruit rot is the most devastating fungal disease limiting the
production and marketing of fresh mango fruits in Kenya and worldwide. Anthracnose is a major
pre‐ and post‐harvest disease on mango, causing direct yield loss in the field, quality and marketing
issues thereafter. Anthracnose disease especially at the postharvest stage is a threat to production
and marketing of fresh mango fruits in Tharaka south sub county. Systemic field surveys were
conducted in Tharaka south sub county which falls in mango production belt in March 2017
fruiting season to determine the distribution and disease incidence of anthracnose and crop
management practices. Thirty mango fields in ten villages were surveyed and all were infected by
anthracnose. The surveyed fields were at one growth stage, which is fruiting. Data generated from
the study areas on the plant part affected, general appearance of the plant part affected and the
agronomic practices done on mango orchards like weeding and pruning was analyzed using SPSS
software version 23 The results revealed that anthracnose was widely distributed in all villages,
but the survey showed variations. Disease incidence was rated as a mean percentage of diseased
plant within the field. The lowest mean incidence of 63.55% was recorded in village 1, while the
highest mean incidence of 93.7% was recorded in village 9. From the result of the investigation, it
was evident that anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides was prevalent in
all the ten study villages of Tharaka south sub county. Eighty four percent of mango trees surveyed
were found infected with anthracnose and over 73.3% of fruits produced on those agronomical
practices were found to be infected by the disease. The results showed that the most infected plant
part was fruit (73.3%) and the most observed symptom was rot (50%). Farmers did not put into
consideration the agronomic practices like weeding and pruning, factors which are responsible to
spreading of the disease inoculums.
