Integrated Management of Phytophthora in Black pepper raised on Forest Tree Nurse Crops

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a spice best-adapted to Konkan agro-climatic conditions in Maharashtra. It is cultivated under partial shade of Arecanut and Coconut crops. However, other suitable forest trees as nurse crops can be established at a close spacing (3 x 3 m) and used for growing sole crop of black pepper under adequate irrigation facilities. Phytophthora causing foot rot in black pepper is a major problem of this crop. As a part of this experiment, study of integrated management ofPhytophthora was conducted using combinations of different fungicidal materials. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with seven replications and three treatments during the year 2007 to 2010 on farmers field at Kelashi, Tal. Dapoli, Dist. Ratnagiri. The treatments were T_r Potassium phosphonate @ 0.3% as spray (2 Wine) + Trichoderma harzianum (50 g of inoculum 1 x 10⁸cfu) mixed with one kg of neem cake as soil application, T2-Bordeaux mixture 1% as spray (2 I/vine) and Copper oxychloride @ 0.1% as drenching (3 I/vine) and T₃-Farmers ’practice-Copper oxychloride @ 0.1% as spray once served as control. Both Tl and T2 were of equal efficacy in reducing foot rot incidence by 70.47 and 56.85 per cent respectively, compared to farmers ’practice. Also Maximum dry berry yield (0.916 kg/vine) was recorded in Tl which was significantly superior to other treatments by 11.44 per cent increase in dry berry yield compared to farmers ’practice.