Dr. M. Krishna Reddy, Former Head, Division of Crop Protection, ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru, Karnataka, discusses about the challenges faced in production and cultivation of tomatoes and chillies.
Recently we saw price and demand for tomato and chillies going up. With tomato, we have two problems, one is shortage and excess production. When there is excess production, the farmers are unable to recover the production cost. But in chilly, we can use it as both fresh and dried form, and so people can store it. There are cold storages for chillies in some areas. India is number one in tomato production. But when there is some constraint in production, the prices go up. This is mainly due to the challenges posed by insects and pest and diseases. This is because of the erratic weather pattern and drought conditions, and yield comes down. The other reason is the failure of certain crops, and for the next season, farmers depend heavily on the inputs and labour. If there is a problem, he becomes economically weak. After that he may not want to take up agriculture. Mainly it is the insects, nematodes, and diseases that cause the crop failure. The important insects and diseases that affect these crops are root knot nematode, fruit borer, pin worm, spider mite, and damping off, late and early blight, bacterial leaf spot, bud necrosis, leaf curl, and tomato mosaic.
Fruit borer comes in the initial stage with eggs on the young fruits which hatch and eat away the fruits leaving a bore on the fruit. This fruit is not marketable, and during harvest, farmers discard all such fruits leading to loss. It is best to check, collect, and destroy in the initial stage itself, add Pheromone to kill moths and parasites. We can also add Bacillus Thuringiensis or chemicals like Chlorantraniliprole. We should wait for a week after spraying to harvest to avoid pesticide residues on the fruits. Next problem for tomato is pin worm which can cause serious harm to the plant. It attacks the leaves and causes tunnel leading to leaf drying off. The larvae eat away the green portion and reduce the leaf surface. They bore the immature fruits and ripened ones. This is again not marketable and has to be discarded. We can use destroy the infested plants, use Pheromone traps, and light traps to attract the moth which are killed. We can also use Bacillus Beauveria and NPV formulations and neem based pesticides which is non-toxic to humans. Chemical fertilisers have to be used at recommended dose and intervals.
The spider mite attacks in summer months when the temperature increases, sucks the plants’ sap, and make them dry leading to reduction in yield and quality. Nematode is something we cannot see except through symptoms such as wilting and drying. Roots have nodules, and when we continue to cultivate on the same soil repeatedly, the problem becomes worst. The soil can be sprayed with Trichoderma, Pseudomonas etc, mixed with neem cake during planting or later stages. In case of heavy infestation, we can use Velum prime which is very effective.
For both chilli and tomato, the diseases start in the beginning seedling stage. If we plant the infected seedlings, they collapse during the growth. This is caused by many infections which are favoured by humidity, high moisture, and rainy conditions. We have to optimise irrigation schedule and do soil drenching with chemicals like Captan or Copper hydroxide to arrest. Trichoderma and pseudomonas in the initial stages will help a lot when mixed with cocopeat and neem cake. Phytophthora or blight is another serious concern during intermittent rains which affect the leaves, and within 48 hours the disease spreads rapidly. When humidity is more than 90%, it is favourable to this disease. sanitation, destroying infected leaves, followed by spraying of Mancozeb or Propineb can help.
Early blight in tomato occurs when there is intermittent rain and cool seasons. Small spots will start, and the fruits dry up as it spreads quickly to the entire plant. We can use foliar application of Mancozeb and Metiram to reduce the same. Soil borne disease in tomato is a bacteria that affects. Once it starts existing in the soil, when the plants are planted, during the flowering and fruiting time, the plants show the symptoms, droop, and dry. There is no effective control for this condition except rotation of crops. We should not continuously grow crops like tomato, potato, chilly, and brinjal which are the main hosts. Cereals and legumes can be cultivated. Chemicals like Streptocycline should be applied once in a while, otherwise Copper oxychloride can be applied. Leaf spot is a bacterial disease in tomato and chilly and capsicum where we can see the spots on the fruits especially during rainy season. When there is rise in temperature, they spread, and fruits, plants, and leaves dry. The destruction of the infected parts and Copper oxychloride can be helpful.
Viral diseases are carried by insects which are sap sucking ones. White fly sucks the leaves and transmits begomoviruses causing curling and yellowing symptoms. Thrips are another sap sucking insects which transmits tospoviruses that cause ring spots, necrosis, and fruit ring spots. There are aphid transmitted viruses such as chilli veinal mottle virus and the cucumber mosaic virus, caused mosaic, mottling and leaf distortion. There are few mechanically and externally seed transmitted tobamoviruses such as Tomato mosaic virus. Tomato mottle mosaic virus and Tomato brown fruit rugose virus. These cause yellowing of fruits and leaves, and the fruits are not marketable or used causing huge loss to the farmers. Tobamoviral disease is seen on the seed surface. When the seed germinates, the disease spreads in the plants. It is due to human activities such as pruning, clipping, and so on.
No single method can be used for viral disease management, it should be started from seedling stage to final field growing stage. These are use of insect proof net where the seedlings get covered in the seed bed. When we use a shade net, we should cover individual rows with 40 x 60 nylon mesh to protect from sap sucking insects. We can apply microbials like Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Trichoderma along with FYM and neem cake in media for seedling raising. We can get strong root system and quality seedlings, which can be planted in the main field. Prior to seedling transplanting, it should be drenched with chemicals. In the main field, border should have two rows of maize or sorghum, or bajra as a barrier crop. We can use silver or white polythene mulching sheet to cover the beds followed by erection of yellow and blue colour sticky traps 15 to 20 in an acre to attract sucking insects. Insecticides rotation should be followed with Acephate, neem-based pesticide and spiro mesifen, admir, or fipronil can be used one at a time and at a 7 to 10 days interval. It has to be followed till flowering and fruiting. We can use micronutrients or plant immunity development chemicals such as sea weed extracts. We should avoid growth hormones which weakens the plants and attract insects and virus. We can go for disease resistant varieties like arka abhed, Arka Rakshak, or Arka Samrat of Tomato or Arka Tejashvi, Arka Samanvitha, Arka Haritha and Arka Swatha of Chilli. With excess production, the market price is low causing loss to the farmers. We have to have preserving methods, minimal processing facilities and storage. Industries pay very low for the products. Farmers can grow one acre for processing and three for table type. This can compensate for any loss in one of the processes.
India is the largest producer and exporter of chilli. We use chilli for diverse purposes. The issues with chilli is the erratic weather and insect and diseases. Similar to tomato we have phytophthora disease which affects leaves, stems, and spreads very fast. Intermittent rain and heavy rain and high humidity favour the disease. Trichoderma, Pseudomonas, Paecilomyces and cocopeat helps. Proper drainage is needed. Copper hydroxide, Bordeaux, or chlorothalonil can control the infection. Powdery mildew occurs in cool season. It causes leaves to droop, reduced photosynthesis and yield. The infected leaves should be burnt. We can spray Tridemorph or wettable sulphur or Kerathane in the initial stages. Anthracnose is a serious disease which is caused by high humidity, lack of proper drying, and moisture content in fruits. Thairam, Captan, Seedpro, Bacillus, and Trichoderma are helpful. Leaf spot and blight diseases start during rains followed by increase in temperature. Copper oxychloride can help. Choeanephora blight affects chilli due to wet rot in rainy season, and humidity at 95%. We have to spray Copper oxychloride, Myclobutanil, or Dithane to control this.
In tomato, chilli, and capsicum, some viral diseases are similar, cucumber mosaic virus and chilli veinal mottle virus and asymmetric virus are the ones transmitted by aphid in nonpersistent manner. It has to be controlled using Cabrosulfan or Fipronil. Caterpillars are also a big problem as they eat away fruits and leaves. Spraying neem based kernel extract or Bacillus thuringlensis are effective. Other chemicals like Emamectin and methomyl can also be applied. Yellow mites cause extensive damage to the plants. It can be destroyed by applying Spiromeifen, ethion, or chlorfenapyr. Chilly leaf virus causes curling, stunted growth, and reduced nodes. The plants have to be protected from white flies with barrier crops of maize or sorghum and sticky traps and pesticides which should be applied on rotation. Thrips suck the sap leading to leaf curling and necrosis of plant and leaf. Thrips in chillies can be controlled by seed treatment with imidacloprid, blue and white sticky traps. Black thrips are now attacking the plants more by destroying the stigma of the flowers and leaves. We can prevent it by border cropping with maize or sorghum, sanitation, mulches, and destroying the affected leaves. Management of pests and diseases start from the seed priming using neem cake, FYM, and bioformulations. Nowadays a thin cloth is used as protective cover for the seedlings. We should take care of the erratic weather, glut or failure of crops, fluctuation in price causing loss to the farmers, insects and pests problem, and input cost and labours. We should support the farmers to get correct price to cover the investment they make.
What irrigation methods have proven to be successful in tomato and chilly farming especially in water scarce regions?
Drip irrigation followed in Karnataka and Maharashtra is useful. We have to focus on water conserving methods as it is a crucial input.
Are there any innovative technologies or tools that can help optimise tomato and chilli production? Any government initiatives to assist tomato and chilli farmers?
Mulching sheets, nylon net cover, use of disease resistant cultivars and optimum chemical usage can help in tomato and chilli production. Government is seeking ideas and programs to help farmers. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh they have supporting price system for chilli and tomato.
What are the challenges in marketing and selling of tomatoes and chilli, and how can they be addressed? How can we minimise post-harvest losses?
Marketing is a big issue. Farmers can make produce collectively, and market their products with the help of FPO and FPCs. There is a need for market linkage should be developed and awareness to be created . Many institutions and government are giving subsidies for the FPCs for inputs, machinery hiring, and by working in groups, the input cost can be reduced. With proper stage of harvesting and storage we can minimise the post-harvest losses. Use of solar dryers, easy transportation systems, good packaging, and good market linkages can reduce the losses.
Can you share experience with organic farming practice in tomato and chilli cultivation?
We have to enrich soil carbon first. With low availability of FYM, we have to prepare microbial formulations to make use of bacteria and fungi to improve soil health and more nutrients to plants and reduce attack by pests and diseases. We have to aim at better and economical yield. Neem based extracts and seaweed extracts are used now to strengthen plants. We must make use of cow urine and vermicompost to achieve.
Any insights on crop rotation and intercropping that work well with tomato and chilli?
Maize as border crop and with good demand in the market can be a good solution. Tomato with beans or chilli with beans, cabbage, cow pea can get better income for the farmers in short term. Beans helps in increasing carbon content and soil fertility. Any loss in one crop can be compensated by the intercrops. This will enhance the economy and income for the farmers. Maize prevents sucking pests and other insects. We can sell sweet corn like a vegetable in the market as it has demand. Otherwise we can grow normal grain maize in between.
Recently we saw price and demand for tomato and chillies going up. With tomato, we have two problems, one is shortage and excess production. When there is excess production, the farmers are unable to recover the production cost. But in chilly, we can use it as both fresh and dried form, and so people can store it. There are cold storages for chillies in some areas. India is number one in tomato production. But when there is some constraint in production, the prices go up. This is mainly due to the challenges posed by insects and pest and diseases. This is because of the erratic weather pattern and drought conditions, and yield comes down. The other reason is the failure of certain crops, and for the next season, farmers depend heavily on the inputs and labour. If there is a problem, he becomes economically weak. After that he may not want to take up agriculture. Mainly it is the insects, nematodes, and diseases that cause the crop failure. The important insects and diseases that affect these crops are root knot nematode, fruit borer, pin worm, spider mite, and damping off, late and early blight, bacterial leaf spot, bud necrosis, leaf curl, and tomato mosaic.
Fruit borer comes in the initial stage with eggs on the young fruits which hatch and eat away the fruits leaving a bore on the fruit. This fruit is not marketable, and during harvest, farmers discard all such fruits leading to loss. It is best to check, collect, and destroy in the initial stage itself, add Pheromone to kill moths and parasites. We can also add Bacillus Thuringiensis or chemicals like Chlorantraniliprole. We should wait for a week after spraying to harvest to avoid pesticide residues on the fruits. Next problem for tomato is pin worm which can cause serious harm to the plant. It attacks the leaves and causes tunnel leading to leaf drying off. The larvae eat away the green portion and reduce the leaf surface. They bore the immature fruits and ripened ones. This is again not marketable and has to be discarded. We can use destroy the infested plants, use Pheromone traps, and light traps to attract the moth which are killed. We can also use Bacillus Beauveria and NPV formulations and neem based pesticides which is non-toxic to humans. Chemical fertilisers have to be used at recommended dose and intervals.
The spider mite attacks in summer months when the temperature increases, sucks the plants’ sap, and make them dry leading to reduction in yield and quality. Nematode is something we cannot see except through symptoms such as wilting and drying. Roots have nodules, and when we continue to cultivate on the same soil repeatedly, the problem becomes worst. The soil can be sprayed with Trichoderma, Pseudomonas etc, mixed with neem cake during planting or later stages. In case of heavy infestation, we can use Velum prime which is very effective.
For both chilli and tomato, the diseases start in the beginning seedling stage. If we plant the infected seedlings, they collapse during the growth. This is caused by many infections which are favoured by humidity, high moisture, and rainy conditions. We have to optimise irrigation schedule and do soil drenching with chemicals like Captan or Copper hydroxide to arrest. Trichoderma and pseudomonas in the initial stages will help a lot when mixed with cocopeat and neem cake. Phytophthora or blight is another serious concern during intermittent rains which affect the leaves, and within 48 hours the disease spreads rapidly. When humidity is more than 90%, it is favourable to this disease. sanitation, destroying infected leaves, followed by spraying of Mancozeb or Propineb can help.
Early blight in tomato occurs when there is intermittent rain and cool seasons. Small spots will start, and the fruits dry up as it spreads quickly to the entire plant. We can use foliar application of Mancozeb and Metiram to reduce the same. Soil borne disease in tomato is a bacteria that affects. Once it starts existing in the soil, when the plants are planted, during the flowering and fruiting time, the plants show the symptoms, droop, and dry. There is no effective control for this condition except rotation of crops. We should not continuously grow crops like tomato, potato, chilly, and brinjal which are the main hosts. Cereals and legumes can be cultivated. Chemicals like Streptocycline should be applied once in a while, otherwise Copper oxychloride can be applied. Leaf spot is a bacterial disease in tomato and chilly and capsicum where we can see the spots on the fruits especially during rainy season. When there is rise in temperature, they spread, and fruits, plants, and leaves dry. The destruction of the infected parts and Copper oxychloride can be helpful.
Viral diseases are carried by insects which are sap sucking ones. White fly sucks the leaves and transmits begomoviruses causing curling and yellowing symptoms. Thrips are another sap sucking insects which transmits tospoviruses that cause ring spots, necrosis, and fruit ring spots. There are aphid transmitted viruses such as chilli veinal mottle virus and the cucumber mosaic virus, caused mosaic, mottling and leaf distortion. There are few mechanically and externally seed transmitted tobamoviruses such as Tomato mosaic virus. Tomato mottle mosaic virus and Tomato brown fruit rugose virus. These cause yellowing of fruits and leaves, and the fruits are not marketable or used causing huge loss to the farmers. Tobamoviral disease is seen on the seed surface. When the seed germinates, the disease spreads in the plants. It is due to human activities such as pruning, clipping, and so on.
No single method can be used for viral disease management, it should be started from seedling stage to final field growing stage. These are use of insect proof net where the seedlings get covered in the seed bed. When we use a shade net, we should cover individual rows with 40 x 60 nylon mesh to protect from sap sucking insects. We can apply microbials like Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Trichoderma along with FYM and neem cake in media for seedling raising. We can get strong root system and quality seedlings, which can be planted in the main field. Prior to seedling transplanting, it should be drenched with chemicals. In the main field, border should have two rows of maize or sorghum, or bajra as a barrier crop. We can use silver or white polythene mulching sheet to cover the beds followed by erection of yellow and blue colour sticky traps 15 to 20 in an acre to attract sucking insects. Insecticides rotation should be followed with Acephate, neem-based pesticide and spiro mesifen, admir, or fipronil can be used one at a time and at a 7 to 10 days interval. It has to be followed till flowering and fruiting. We can use micronutrients or plant immunity development chemicals such as sea weed extracts. We should avoid growth hormones which weakens the plants and attract insects and virus. We can go for disease resistant varieties like arka abhed, Arka Rakshak, or Arka Samrat of Tomato or Arka Tejashvi, Arka Samanvitha, Arka Haritha and Arka Swatha of Chilli. With excess production, the market price is low causing loss to the farmers. We have to have preserving methods, minimal processing facilities and storage. Industries pay very low for the products. Farmers can grow one acre for processing and three for table type. This can compensate for any loss in one of the processes.
India is the largest producer and exporter of chilli. We use chilli for diverse purposes. The issues with chilli is the erratic weather and insect and diseases. Similar to tomato we have phytophthora disease which affects leaves, stems, and spreads very fast. Intermittent rain and heavy rain and high humidity favour the disease. Trichoderma, Pseudomonas, Paecilomyces and cocopeat helps. Proper drainage is needed. Copper hydroxide, Bordeaux, or chlorothalonil can control the infection. Powdery mildew occurs in cool season. It causes leaves to droop, reduced photosynthesis and yield. The infected leaves should be burnt. We can spray Tridemorph or wettable sulphur or Kerathane in the initial stages. Anthracnose is a serious disease which is caused by high humidity, lack of proper drying, and moisture content in fruits. Thairam, Captan, Seedpro, Bacillus, and Trichoderma are helpful. Leaf spot and blight diseases start during rains followed by increase in temperature. Copper oxychloride can help. Choeanephora blight affects chilli due to wet rot in rainy season, and humidity at 95%. We have to spray Copper oxychloride, Myclobutanil, or Dithane to control this.
In tomato, chilli, and capsicum, some viral diseases are similar, cucumber mosaic virus and chilli veinal mottle virus and asymmetric virus are the ones transmitted by aphid in nonpersistent manner. It has to be controlled using Cabrosulfan or Fipronil. Caterpillars are also a big problem as they eat away fruits and leaves. Spraying neem based kernel extract or Bacillus thuringlensis are effective. Other chemicals like Emamectin and methomyl can also be applied. Yellow mites cause extensive damage to the plants. It can be destroyed by applying Spiromeifen, ethion, or chlorfenapyr. Chilly leaf virus causes curling, stunted growth, and reduced nodes. The plants have to be protected from white flies with barrier crops of maize or sorghum and sticky traps and pesticides which should be applied on rotation. Thrips suck the sap leading to leaf curling and necrosis of plant and leaf. Thrips in chillies can be controlled by seed treatment with imidacloprid, blue and white sticky traps. Black thrips are now attacking the plants more by destroying the stigma of the flowers and leaves. We can prevent it by border cropping with maize or sorghum, sanitation, mulches, and destroying the affected leaves. Management of pests and diseases start from the seed priming using neem cake, FYM, and bioformulations. Nowadays a thin cloth is used as protective cover for the seedlings. We should take care of the erratic weather, glut or failure of crops, fluctuation in price causing loss to the farmers, insects and pests problem, and input cost and labours. We should support the farmers to get correct price to cover the investment they make.
What irrigation methods have proven to be successful in tomato and chilly farming especially in water scarce regions?
Drip irrigation followed in Karnataka and Maharashtra is useful. We have to focus on water conserving methods as it is a crucial input.
Are there any innovative technologies or tools that can help optimise tomato and chilli production? Any government initiatives to assist tomato and chilli farmers?
Mulching sheets, nylon net cover, use of disease resistant cultivars and optimum chemical usage can help in tomato and chilli production. Government is seeking ideas and programs to help farmers. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh they have supporting price system for chilli and tomato.
What are the challenges in marketing and selling of tomatoes and chilli, and how can they be addressed? How can we minimise post-harvest losses?
Marketing is a big issue. Farmers can make produce collectively, and market their products with the help of FPO and FPCs. There is a need for market linkage should be developed and awareness to be created . Many institutions and government are giving subsidies for the FPCs for inputs, machinery hiring, and by working in groups, the input cost can be reduced. With proper stage of harvesting and storage we can minimise the post-harvest losses. Use of solar dryers, easy transportation systems, good packaging, and good market linkages can reduce the losses.
Can you share experience with organic farming practice in tomato and chilli cultivation?
We have to enrich soil carbon first. With low availability of FYM, we have to prepare microbial formulations to make use of bacteria and fungi to improve soil health and more nutrients to plants and reduce attack by pests and diseases. We have to aim at better and economical yield. Neem based extracts and seaweed extracts are used now to strengthen plants. We must make use of cow urine and vermicompost to achieve.
Any insights on crop rotation and intercropping that work well with tomato and chilli?
Maize as border crop and with good demand in the market can be a good solution. Tomato with beans or chilli with beans, cabbage, cow pea can get better income for the farmers in short term. Beans helps in increasing carbon content and soil fertility. Any loss in one crop can be compensated by the intercrops. This will enhance the economy and income for the farmers. Maize prevents sucking pests and other insects. We can sell sweet corn like a vegetable in the market as it has demand. Otherwise we can grow normal grain maize in between.