Betelvine leaves are important because of its medicinal, religious and ceremonial
Soil –
Well drained fertile clay loams are suitable. It does not tolerate saline and alkaline
conditions. Betelvine require a cool shade, considerable humidity and regular supply of
moisture in the soil.
Climate –
Betelvine require a cool humid with considerable humidity and regular supply of moisture in the soil is essential.The crop tolerates a minimum temperature of 10ºC and a maximum of 40ºC. Extremely low atmospheric temperature leads to leaf fall.
Irrigate the field immediately after planting and afterwards once in a week.
Training is done by fixing the vine at intervals of 15 to 20 cm along the standards loosely with the help of banana fibre. Training is done every 15 – 20 days depending upon the growth of vines.
Lowering of vines: Under normal cultivation, the vines grow to height of 3 m in one year period. When they reach this height their vigour to produce normal size leaf is reduced and they need rejuvenation by lowering during March – April. After the vine is lowered, a number of tillers spring up from the nodes at the bends of the coiled vines at the ground level and produce many primary vines. After each lowering, irrigation should be given.
Pests
1)Scale insects
Spray NSKE 5 %
2)Mites (Sevvattai)
Spray wettable sulphur 50 WP @ 1 g/lit or dicofol 18.5 EC 0.5 ml/lit or NSKE 5%.
3)Aphids
Spray chlorpyriphos at 2 ml/lit on agathi leaves. Clip off excess agathi leaves.
4)Mealy bugs
Spray chlorpyriphos 20 EC at 2 ml/lit or dimethoate 30 EC 2ml/lit. Concentrate the spray towards the collar region.
5)Nematode
Application of Neem cake at 1 t/ha or chopped and shade dried Calotrophis leaves at 2.5 t/ha to soil, after lowering the vines. Soil application of Bacillus subtilis (BbV 57) or Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 10 g / vine for the control of root knot nematode and quick wilt of betel vine .
1)Phytophthora Wilt
Select well matured (more than 1 year old) seed vines free from pest and diseases
Soak the seed vines for about 30 minutes in streptocyline @ 500 ppm or 0.5 % Bordeaux mixture
Apply shade dried neem leaf or Calotrophis leaves at 2 t/ha and cover it with mud (2 t in 2 split doses) on beds
Drench with 0.25 % Bordeaux mixture in basin formed around the vine at monthly intervals starting from October – January, three times soil drench and six times spray from June – July
During winter season avoid frequent irrigation
Remove the affected vines away from the garden and burn them
Application of fosetyl-Al @ 3 g/l for four times at monthly intervals
Application of Trichoderma asperellum 5 g/vine.
2)Bacterial leaf spot, blight and bacterial stem rot
Spray streptocycline @ 400 ppm + 0.25% Bordeaux mixture when the first disease
symptoms appear. Continue spraying at 20 days intervals and always spray the chemical after plucking the leaves.
3)Anthracnose (theechal)
Spray ziram @ 0.2 % or 0.5 % Bordeaux mixture after plucking the leaves after the first appearance of the symptom
Powdery mildew
Spray wettable sulphur @ 0.2 % after plucking the leaves.
It depends upon the growth of the vines and market condition. Once harvesting starts, it continues almost every day.
75 to 100 lakh leaves/ha/year