Development of Green Technology to Control the Root Rotting Disease in Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) Using the Leaves of Neem Tree (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) and Matico (Piper aduncum I.)
Development of Green Technology to Control the Root Rotting Disease in Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) Using the Leaves of Neem Tree (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) and Matico (Piper aduncum I.)
The state of Pará is responsible for 80% of the national black pepper production, and Brazil is the third biggest producer and exporter of the spice. However, the production and productivity of the culture has been decreasing throughout the years due to the occurrence of the root rotting disease caused by Fusarium solani f sp. Piperis in a great number of black pepper farms, leading to great economical loss and substantial decline in plantation area along the period of more than forty years, since there really isn't an efficient method to control the spreading of the disease. This project aims to develop a green control method for this disease, decreasing the inoculation of the pathogenic agent in the soil by means of incorporating the leaves of the neem tree alone or along with the organic fertilizers, in fresh or dried forms, in various amounts and in specific seasons, according to the plantation's usual practices. Furthermore, neem tree and Piper aduncum extracts will be spray tested in the fields. The method will increase production, productivity and the lifespan of the trees, being easily executed by the farmers and having low costs, offering no harm to the region's ecological balance since it is a natural product, non-toxic to man and animals. Considering that the black pepper farms have been maintaining themselves without the aid of synthetic pesticides, this new control method will improve the black pepper productive system in an ecologically based set of practices, without offering impacts to the environment or to seed quality, a fact that will please the foreign market, the greatest destination of these crops, due to the absence of chemical residue.
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Ecosystem: Amazonic
Status: Completed Start date: Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2007 Conclusion date: Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2009
Head Unit: Embrapa Eastern Amazon
Project leader: Celia Regina Tremacoldi
Contact: celia.tremacoldi@embrapa.br