The consultation council consisted of 15 members, with participation from experts, managers, and enterprises representing various organizations such as the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Department of Science and Technology of Dak Lak Province, Tay Nguyen University, the Institute of Agricultural Chemistry and Soils, and several durian cooperatives. Dr. Nguyen Viet Tru presented the research proposal, which received numerous constructive comments. Experts highly appreciated the project’s urgency, feasibility, and practical significance. Several suggestions focused on optimizing survey and sampling methods as well as improving the research methods to reduce costs. The consultation achieved strong consensus, providing a scientific basis for finalizing and implementing the next phases of the project.

Sexual hybridation is primary method for black pepper breeding in order to select good varieties with higher productivity, yield, quality as well as resistance to disease and environmental risks. Research showed that white pepper seeds germinated after 13-27 days after incubation, most of seeds were germinated 15-23 days after incubation with 56,1-86,9% of seeds germinated. The three-month old seedlings of  H-DP6 and  H-L1 showed better growth with good plants accounted for 54,17 and 80,83%, respectively.

Diversified crop rotation (DCR) improves the efficiency of farming systems all over the world. It has the potentiality to improve soil condition and boost system productivity. Improved soil attributes such as increased soil water uptake and storage, and a greater number of beneficial soil organisms, may improve yield tolerance to drought and other hard growing conditions in a variety of crop rotations. Crop rotations with a variety of crops benefit the farmers,reduce production risk and uncertainty, and enhance soil and ecological sustainability. Farmers may be able to diversify their sources of income by adopting diversified crop rotations. Furthermore, because of the distinct structure, function, and relationship of plant community with soil in DCR, it contributes to the long-term development of soil health by decreasing insect, weed, and disease incidence and increasing the physical and chemical structure of the soil. DCR is becoming more popular approach for maintaining sustainable crop production. This review provides the evidence of the significance of DCR, challenges to adapt it, and possible way out to overcome the challenges.

Link: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aag/2021/8924087/

Key words: pepper processing, green pepper corn, heat pump drying, pepper drying

The Western Highland Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute

In coffee intensive farming, most farmers use soluble chemical fertilizers. However, when facing unfavorable conditions, a large amount of fertilizer will be lost; leading to reduces cost-effectiveness and increases the risk of environmental pollution. Therefore, the experiment “Research on the suitable dose of controlled release fertilizer for Robusta coffee in mature stage on reddish brown basalt soil in Dak Lak” was implemented in EaKnuec commune, Krong Pak district, Dak Lak province in order to find the most optimal formula. The experiment arranged in randomized complete block design (RCBD) consisted of 4 formulas and repeated 3 times. Controlled release fertilizer (CRF) is a conventional NPK fertilizer, coated with a polymer layer to control the release slowly and continuously according to the nutrient needs of the coffee palnt during growth. Therefore, farmers can fertilize 2 times/crop. The results of the experiment showed that the indicators of growth, yield and quality of green coffee beans in the formulas of controlled release fertilizer were equal to or higher than the control formula (conventional fertilizer). In which, the formula for applying 85% of controlled release fertilizer has got the highest cost-effectiveness. This fomula applied 274 kg of N. Humate (35% N) in March + 944 kg of slow-release NPK (15-9-20) and 82 kg of KCl in June. The coffee yield was 4.60 tons/ha with the highest profit of 82.86 million VND/ha/year; cost-effectiveness increased by 15.61% compared to the control; and the highest VCR  was 1.62.

Keywords: reddish brown basalt soil, controlled release fertilizer, polymer.

Division of Agriculture System

This study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of biopreparation against Fusarium oxysporum in coffee. The experiment was conducted on an 8-year-old coffee, arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 4 formulas, 3 replications, 9 coffee trees per plot; between two plots, there is a row of coffee to separate. One liter of biopreparation is dissolved in 500 liters of water corresponding to a concentration of 0.2%. Four experimental treatments include: no treatment biopreparation (control), biopreparation 0.2% (3 liters/tree), biopreparation 0.2% (5 liters/tree), and biopreparation 0.2% (7 liters/tree). The results showed that the biopreparation have the effect of limiting the yellow leaf disease rate and index of coffee trees. Especially, treatment of biopreparation after 3 months, formula 3 (5 liters/tree) and formula 4 (7 liters/tree), the rate of yellow leaf disease significantly decreased compared to formula control (no treatment), There was no statistical differences between formula 3 and formula 4. The disease index in treatments reduced significantly compared to the control. Treatment of biopreparation have significantly reduced yellow leaf disease and root rot in coffee compared to the control. These results suggest that using biopreparation with the main ingredient of cinnamon bark extract and chitosan to effectively prevent Fusarium oxysporum from harming coffee trees.

Key words: biopreparation, cinnamon extracts, chitosan, Fusarium oxysporum