Black Pepper Cultivation – Calendar of Operations from June to July

Nursery

• Spray and drench the plants with Pseudomonas fluorescens (2%) at fortnightly interval.

• Spray with potassium phosphonate 0.3% or metalaxyl mancozeb 0.125% (1.25g/litre) at fortnightly interval, if Phytophthora disease incidence is noticed. Alternatively spray the foliage with Bordeaux mixture 1% and drench with copper oxychloride 0.2%.

• Drench the infested bags with chlorpyriphos 0.075%, if mealy bugs damage is noticed.

• Spray with dimethoate (0.05%), if gall thrips or scale insects incidence is noticed.

• Remove bags with infected cuttings or on nursery to prevent spread of disease.

• Select healthy, robust rooted cuttings for replanting.

• Prepare pits (50 x 50 x 50 cm) on the northern side of standards, 15-30 cm away from the base of the standard.
• Fill the pits with a mixture of topsoil and compost or well rotten cattle manure @ 5 kg/pit mixed with biocontrol agents viz., T. harzianum or T. viride (50 g/pit) and VAM (110 g/pit) and P. chlamydosporia (50 g/pit).

• Plant 2-3 rooted cuttings in the pits at a distance of about 30cm away from the standards.

• Press the soil around the cuttings to form a small mound slopping outward and away from the cuttings to prevent water stagnation around the plants.

• Tie and trail the growing shoots to the standards.

• Provide shade to the plants if the land is exposed and if there is a dry spell.

Plantation

Phytosanitation

• Remove all infected or dead vines along with the root system.

• Prune the runner shoots or tie back to the standards before the onset of monsoon.
• Prune off the branches of live standards to allow better aeration and sunlight that would reduce the chances of infestation.

• Provide good drainage in areas prone to water stagnation.
• Tie growing shoots of young vines to the standard.

• Undertake slash- weeding in the interspaces.

Manuring

• Undertake manuring and fertilizer application with the receipt of few pre-monsoon showers.

• Apply organic manures @ 10kg/vine (decomposed cattle manure or compost or green leaves).

• Apply neem cake @ 1 kg/ mature vine.
• Apply lime @ 500 g / vine in alternate years.
• Apply Azospirillum (50 g/vine) and P.solubilizer (50 g /vine).

 

Note: Application of chemical fertilizers can be undertaken two weeks after application of manures and bio fertilizers/ bio-inputs.

Chemical fertilizer application

• Apply the recommended dose of chemical fertilizer at the rate of NPK 50:50:150 g/vine/year (Urea 100 g:Rock Phosphate 300 g: MOP 250 g) in two splits

• Provide half of the dose during June (Urea-50g: Rock Phosphate-150g:MOP 125g).

• Apply only two-third of the dose to thetwo year old vines and full dose of fertilizers from 3rd year onwards.

• Apply zinc sulphate 0.25% as a foliar spray and also magnesium sulphate (150 g/vine) as soil application, in zinc deficient and magnesium deficient soil, respectively

               OR 

• Black pepper Micronutrient mixture as foliar spray twice in a year.

Plant protection

• Undertake foliar spray with Bordeaux mixture 1% followed by soil drenching over a radius of 45-50 cm around the vineswith copper oxychloride 0.2% (@ 2-5 litres per vine), immediately after first monsoon showers.

              OR

• Drench the soil and spray foliage with potassium phosphanate 0.3% Or metalaxyl mancozeb 0.125% (@ 2-5 litres per vine).

• Undertake foliar spray with quinalphos (0.05%) to check pollu beetle or top shoot borer. Leaf gall thrips can be controlled by spraying dimethoate (0.05%)

• Apply first round of biocontrol agents(AMF, Trichoderma, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pochonia chlamy dosporia) along with organics

• Avoid copper oxychloride drenching if biocontrol agents are applied.