Analysis of Patterns of Pineapple Mealybug Wilt Disease in Sri Lanka

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Abstract
Mealybug wilt disease of pineapple has a complicated etiology, which is not yet fully understood. As a result, assessments of the disease in the field, such as those that are made in the context of evaluation of disease control methods, are usually based on symptomatology. Field assessments, based on symptoms of mealybug wilt disease, were made in the Kurunegala and Gampaha districts of Sri Lanka. These data were fitted to statistical probability distributions as a method of summarizing the spatial pattern of disease incidence. Most plots showed aggregated patterns of diseased plants, but there were some exceptions. Summarizing patterns of disease incidence by means of fitting statistical probability distributions provides a basis for significance testing in cases where factors affecting disease incidence are the subject of field experimentation. Some examples of this methodology are given.