Betelvine Crop Stage Wise IPM

Pre-planting/Nursery stage

Common cultural practices:

• Deep ploughing of fields during summer to manage nematodes population, to expose pupae, propagules of soil borne pathogens and weeds before establishment of the vineyard
• Soil solarization is advocated before the establishment of new garden for better plant stand and to minimize initial disease inoculum levels for nematodes and resting stages of insects, diseases and weeds.
• Planting should be done timely and adopt proper spacing, irrigation and fertilizer management. Avoid application of high nitrogenous fertilizer.
• Field sanitation
• Adopt ecological engineering by growing the attractant, repellent, and trap crops around the field bunds

Nutrients

• Apply farmyard manure @ 10 tons per acre as basal dressing in the last ploughing. The land is laid out into ridges and furrows 45 cm apart and irrigation channels formed at convenient places.
• In saline and alkaline soils, apply gypsum @ 1.0 ton per acre and plough the field before sowing live standards

Weeds

• Destroy all the weeds from planting area after deep ploughing during summer.
• Remove all the perennial weds and their rhizomes/suckers before onset of monsoon.

Soil and seed borne pathogens, Nematodes

Cultural control:

• Trimming of field bunds will destroy the existing rodents.

Mechanical control:

• The affected cutting along with defoliated leaves should be removed from nursery and destroyed.

Biological control:

• To boost the crop use neem cake @ 40 Kg/acre under assured moisture condition in nematode infested field only

Planting*

Nutrients

• Apply nutrients based on soil test report and recommendation for the zone. In general, apply 60 kg N/acre/year 50 percent through Neem cake and 50 % through Urea.
• Apply 40 kg P₂O₅ and 20 kg K₂O at the time of planting

Weeds

• Ploughing and levelling of field before setting up of betelvine bareja as well as standing crop.
• Drip irrigation should be adopted to reduce weed problem. Drip irrigation produce significantly maximum vine elongation, number of branches and of leaves per ha.
• Follow the recommended agronomic management practices of land preparation, plant spacing, fertilizer and irrigation etc. to have healthy plants stand.
• Care should be taken to avoid direct contact of fertilizers with the roots of betelvine.

Nematodes, and soil borne disease

Cultural control:

• Select healthy and disease free planting materials.
• Use resistant tolerant varieties.
• The incidence of diseases viz., Foot rot can be reduced by application of drip irrigation.
• In open type of shorter duration of 2-3 years the desirable cropping sequence has to be worked to minimize the population of soil borne pathogens
• Neem cake @ one Kg/pit may be mixed with the mixture at the time of planting.

* Note: Apply Trichoderma viride/harzianum and Pseudomonas fluorescens as seed and soil application (If Commercial products are used, check for label claim. However, biopesticides produced by farmers for own consumption in their fields, registration is not required).

Vegetative

Common cultural practices:

• Provide irrigation at critical stages of the crop
• Avoid water stress and water stagnation conditions.
• Enhance parasitic activity by avoiding chemical spray, when larval parasitoids are observed
• The soil used for earthing up should be either sun dried or disinfested by chemical.

Common mechanical practices:

• Collection and destruction of visible eggs, and larvae of inset pests.
• Collect and destroy diseased and insect infected plant parts
• Use yellow sticky traps for aphids and whitefly and blue sticky traps for thrips @ 4-5 traps/acre.
• Set up bonfire during evening hours at 7-8 pm.

Common biological practices:

• Conserve natural enemies through ecological engineering
• Augmentative release of natural enemies.

Nutrients

Table 1. Fertilizers requirement of betelvine

• 15 days after lifting the vines while second and third dose at 40 - 45 days intervals as mentioned in Table 1.
• The manures and fertilizers are applied around the vine at a distance of 30 cm from the base and incorporated into the soil.

Weeds

• Pull out weeds before flowering by 2-3 rounds of hand tool weeding.
• Slash weeding is a cost-effective method and to keep a cover always over the soil.
• Mulching with dry/green leaves or organic matter @ 10 Kg should be given to control weed growth and to prevent sun scorching of young vines during summer.
• Mulching by black polyethylene sheet or organic matter between the rows be adopted to manage the weeds

Phytophthora foot rot, Sclerotial wilt or collar rot or Fusarial wilt**

Cultural control:

• Removal and destruction of dead vines along with root system from the garden is essential as this reduces the build up of inoculum (fungal population).
• Planting material must be collected from disease free gardens and the nursery preferably raised in fumigated or solarized soil.
• Adequate drainage should be provided to reduce water stagnation.
• Injury to the root system due to cultural practices such as digging should be avoided.
• The freshly emerging runner shoots should not be allowed to trail on the ground. They must either be tied back to the standard or pruned off.
• The branches of support trees must be pruned at the onset of monsoon to avoid build up of humidity and for better penetration of sunlight.
• Reduced humidity and presence of sunlight reduces the intensity of leaf infection.

For foot rot:

Chemical control:

• Copper oxychloride 50% WP @ 1 Kg in 300-400 l of water/acre

Leaf spot or anthracanose

Cultural control:

• Eradication of affected vine from vineyard.
• Apply phytosanitation process.
• Irrigation by rose can.

Powdery mildew

Cultural control:

• Cultural practices that reduce humidity within the vineyard, enable good air circulation through the canopy, and provide good light exposure to all leaves and clusters aid in managing powdery mildew.
• Use an under vine irrigation system and manage it carefully, excess can favour the disease

Bacterial leaf spot

Cultural control:

• Collecting and burning the infected plant parts minimizes the spread of the disease.
• Increase air circulation in the vineyard. ‘
• Remove disease cane from the vineyard during normal pruning operations in the dormant season.
• Follow up hand pruning.

Thrips**

Cultural control:

• The recommendation on shade management, if adopted, will help to prevent the excessive built up of thrips and mites
• Regular field assessment

Biological control:

• See common practices.

Aphids

Cultural control:

• Reflective mulches such as silver colored plastic can deter aphids from feeding on plants.
• Sturdy plants can be sprayed with a strong jet of water to knock aphids from leaves
• For other follow common practices.

Biological control:

• See common biological practices.

Mealy bug

Cultural control:

• Removal of weeds and alternate host plants like hibiscus, bhindi, custard apple, guava etc in and nearby vineyards throughout the year.
• Deep ploughing in summer or raking of soil in vineyards helps to destroy its nymphal stages and minimizing the incidence.

Biological control:

• Release exotic predator, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri @ 10 beetles/vine.

Physical control:

• Detrash the crop on 150 and 210 DAP

Scale insects

Cultural control:

• Initiate control measures during early stages of pest infestation.
• Select scale free seed vines.
• For other follow common practices.

Biological control:

• In nurseries spraying neem oil 0.3 per cent or fish oil rosin 3.0 per cent is also effective in controlling the pest infestation.
• Conserve the natural enemies.

Whitefly

Cultural control:

• Field sanitation and rogueing of alternate hosts.
• A regularly maintained program of hedging and topping can help avoid whitefly problems
• For others see common practices.

Biological control:

• See common biological practices.

Spike formation/flowering stage

Nutrients

Apply deficient micronutrient if any

Weeds

Left over weeds may be removed before shedding of their seeds

Leaf spot, powdery mildews

Same as in vegetative stage.

Mites (red and yellow)

Cultural control:

• The recommendation on shade management, if adopted, will help to prevent the excessive built up of mites
• Grow nurseries away from infested crops and avoid planting next to infested fields
• the water holding capacity and reduce evaporation
• Keep perennial hedges such as pigeon peas, they are said to encourage predatory mites
• Uproot and burn infested plants. This can be successful during the early stages of infestation when the mites concentrate on a few plants
• Keep the field free of weeds
• Remove and burn infested crop residues immediately after harvest

Biological control:

• Conserve the natural enemies

Betelevine bugs, black fly

Mechanical control:

• See common practices

Aphids, Thrips, Whitefly, Mealybugs

• Same as vegetative stage.