Take serial approaches to control disease and pest on pepper during rainy season

Rainy season is the outbreak time of pests and diseases

    Mr. Tran Van Tien (Gia Tan commune, Thong Nhat district), who has a lot of experience in pepper planting, said: “Due to extended dry weather, early seasonal rains can be followed with the outbreak of pests and diseases. In several pepper growing areas, quick and gradual death diseases are detected but the experience in control learned from other areas and the know-how trained by district’s agricultural extension division help contain the situation.” In his opinion, diseased peppers are blamed for waterlogged irrigation and unclear or humid cultivating conditions. When detecting diseases, pepper growers should use fungal antagonist Trichoderma and muck to improve the resistance against diseases and pests.

    According to pepper growers, peppers are easy to contact diseases because heavy rains can raise humidity which is the favorite condition for the outbreak of fungus, pest and disease causing factors existing in the muddy soil. Mr. Vo Van Thanh, who is well-known for growing pepper at Hung Loc commune, said: “Compared with other plants, pepper is less threatened by harmful pests and diseases, except for untreated “quick and gradual death” disease. The best way is prevention. He particularly emphasized that the sloping areas with irrigation tanks can easily cause diseases. Instead, growers should irrigate peppers in a water efficient way to prevent waterlogged condition.”

Thanh’s pepper garden is growing well without pests and diseases due to dripping irrigation system.

     As a warning from Plant Protection Department and to prevent the quick infection of harmful diseases, farmers need to practice disease control and dig drainage canals in early rainy season (between late April and early May). The best way is the utilization of micro-organic fertilizer, muck and fungal antagonist Trichoderma to prevent various kinds of fungi, specifically phytopthora which is the mass killer of many pepper plants. This method can stop disease, lower cost and elevate the yield and quality of pepper. Additionally, farmers should actively clear and drain pepper gardens after rain; use the dripping irrigation technique during dry season so that water can be gradually absorbed into pepper roots; avoid the overflow irrigation which may waste water and infect diseases. When watering, the rule of “4 rights” should be followed (right pesticide, right dose, right practice and right time).

      As being known, Dong Nai is now cultivating more than 7,000 hectares of pepper, some of which are large and locate at such areas as Cam My, Xuan Loc, Trang Bom, Tan Phu, Thong Nhat, etc.

Reported by T.Canh, Translated by Minh Minh