Implementation

To understand the real-world impact of our approach, it is crucial to examine the consumer market of black pepper, which remains indispensable in households, communities, and the food industry. Its influence is now gradually extending into pharmaceuticals as well.

The primary stakeholders of the black pepper market are households, food processing industries, and restaurants. Recently, black pepper has also taken on significant importance in the pharmaceutical industry. Piperine, a potent alkaloid derived from black pepper, has been shown to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (Stojanović-Radić et al., 2019). Research indicates that piperine enhances drug absorption rates, positioning black pepper as a valuable asset in health and wellness.

The top five producers of black pepper are Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia, Burkina Faso, and India. Asian countries lead in production, and European countries lead in consumption. France has the highest consumption rate in Europe, with over 200 grams per person annually. Despite being the key producers, Asian countries like India show a lower consumption per capita of around 35 grams per person annually. However, black pepper sales in India are projected to grow the fastest, with an average annual increase of 6.1% (Black Pepper Market Insights & Industry Trends 2025-35, 2025).

With the recent shift in consumer preference towards sustainable agriculture and organic farming, the general public will be more welcoming and receptive to our product.

The current management of pepper foot rot relies heavily on chemical fertilizers and fungicidal treatment to improve vine health and suppress the disease.

Sl. no.	Treatment	Effectiveness and method of applying in Soil	Drawbacks
1	Bordeaux mixture (CuSO₄ + Ca(OH)₂ + H₂O)	It is widely used as it is effective against Phytophthora. It has also achieved high inhibition rates in field trials.	Copper is toxic to beneficial microbes like Trichoderma and Gliocladium. Repeated use leads to copper buildup in soil and leaching into water bodies, harming aquatic organisms.
2	Copper oxychloride (COC)	Used as a foliar spray or soil drench; effective in reducing disease spread when applied at 0.2% (Das, 2020 ).	Its accumulation disrupts the soil microbiota. Copper persistence leads to ecological imbalance, such as a change in pH.
3	Metalaxyl + Mancozeb (72% WP)	It has a very high initial efficacy and has achieved high inhibition in both lab and field trials (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, n.d.; Katyayani Krishi Direct., 2025). Metalaxyl and its combinations, such as metalaxyl + mancozeb (Katyayani Krishi Direct., 2025), are used as soil drench or foliar sprays.	Mancozeb and other related formulations are concerning due to evidence linking them to hepatic, renal, and genotoxic effects in mammals, along with risks of endocrine disruption and carcinogenicity (Dall’Agnol et al., 2021). Systemic fungicides like metalaxyl have low long-term efficacy due to resistance development in Phytophthora populations.
4	100 g nitrogen, 40 g phosphorus, and 140 g potassium	Basin irrigation is employed during December - May at 10-day intervals (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, n.d.; Katyayani Krishi Direct., 2025).	Heavy metals tend to accumulate in the soil and lead to ecological imbalance.
5	Azospirillum, Phosphobacteri, Trichoderma and vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM)	It promotes the growth of the plant and improves plant vigor. It has a moderate but consistent control (40–60% reduction in disease severity).	Trichoderma faces challenges of limited shelf life and storage requirements, making it unreliable for farmers with limited resources.
6	Propiconazole	Effective against collar/stem rot, and provides extended control due to persistence (40–112 days, up to 575 days in some soils).	Propiconazole persists in soils for extended periods (40–575 days), contributing to chemical buildup and ecological imbalance (Hamed et al., 2022).

Unlike current control measures that often lead to harmful biological magnification without effectively eliminating the pathogen, our solution promises complete eradication while maintaining black pepper's taste, quality, and purity.

To ensure that the real-world application is feasible, our solution will be lyophilized to convert the nanoformulation into a stable, solid form that is easy to store and apply. Freeze drying is particularly well-suited for preserving the structure and activity of heat and oxygen sensitive nanocarriers (Degobert & Aydin, 2021). The sample will be freeze-dried at -20°C for 48 hours under a pressure of 80 millitorr. These conditions are optimal to retain the structural and functional properties of the nanoformulation (Andersen et al., 2007). Sucrose will be used as a cryoprotectant to prevent particle aggregation and ensure consistent rehydration.

Once dried, the product can be stored at room temperature. This will not only extend its shelf life and eliminate the need for refrigeration but also make it ideally suited for practical applications in field settings. All farmers need to do is resuspend the lyophilized powder in water before application, allowing for easy use during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods. This approach ensures a long shelf-life while maintaining the product's efficacy. It also simplifies usage in agricultural settings, acting as a practical and scalable solution for improved crop management.

Our solution is designed to accommodate all types of cultivation, from backyard farms to large plantations. By providing the right tools and knowledge, we aim to ease the application process so that anyone can implement our solution.

Root drenching involves applying a solution directly to the soil around the plant roots. It has been successfully used as a method of application for chitosan (Riseh et al., 2022; Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, n.d.). Our conversations with pepper farmers verified that drenching the soil or roots is a feasible and cost-effective method of implementation.

Basin irrigation is a surface irrigation method where a field is divided into small basins surrounded by bunds or raised edges. Water is released into each basin, spreading uniformly throughout. It has been proven that basin irrigation of pepper vines during March-May, combined with shade regulation in April, helps in early initiation of pepper spikes and improves flower and fruit set (Krishnamurthy et al., 2011; Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, n.d.). Applying the nanoformulation to the bunds can prevent solution loss by runoff. This is a relatively cheap method that aids pepper growth and also increases the efficiency of the solution by targeting it to a limited root zone.

For farms of a smaller scale, root drenching combined with basin irrigation presents itself as an affordable method requiring minimal capital investment.

Fertigation, on the other hand, is the process of applying fertilizers through an irrigation system. Plants utilize applied solutions more efficiently through fertigation systems than through conventional application methods (Badr et al., 2010). The same method can be employed for the nanoformulation solution. Large-scale farms already have pre-existing irrigation systems. Our solution is compatible with such equipment and does not incur additional costs.

Andersen, M. Ø., Howard, K. A., Paludan, S. R., Besenbacher, F., & Kjems, J. (2007). Delivery of siRNA from lyophilized polymeric surfaces. Biomaterials, 29(4), 506–512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2007.10.003

Badr, M. A., Abou Hussein, S. D., El-Tohamy, W. A., & Gruda, N. (2010). Nutrient uptake and yield of tomato under various methods of fertilizer application and levels of fertigation in arid lands. Gesunde Pflanzen, 62(1), 11-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-010-0219-5

Black Pepper Market Insights & Industry Trends 2025-35. (2025, June 13). https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/black-pepper-market

Dall’Agnol, J. C., Pezzini, M. F., Suarez Uribe, N., & Joveleviths, D. (2021). Systemic effects of the pesticide mancozeb – A literature review. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, 25(11), 4113–4120. https://www.europeanreview.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/4113-4120.pdf

Das, S. (2020). Outbreak of rice blast on the coastal region of South-Eastern India. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Biotechnology, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.30954/0974-1712.1.2020.7

Degobert, G., & Aydin, D. (2021). Lyophilization of nanocapsules: instability sources, formulation and process parameters. Pharmaceutics, 13(8), 1112. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics13081112

Hamed, S. M., Al-Nuaemi, I. J., Korany, S. M., Alsherif, E. A., Mohamed, H. S., & AbdElgawad, H. (2022). Hazard assessment and environmental fate of propiconazole degradation by microalgae: Differential tolerance, antioxidant and detoxification pathway. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 10(4), 108170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2022.108170

Katyayani Krishi Direct. (2025, June 16). Katyayani Krishi Direct - best online store for agriculture products. https://katyayanikrishidirect.com/products/metalaxyl-8-mancozeb-64-wp-meta-manco-fungicide

Krishnamurthy, K. S., Kandiannan, K., Sibin, S., & Ankegowda, S. J. (2011). Trends in climate and productivity and the relationship between climatic variables and productivity in black pepper (Piper nigrum). Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 81(8), 734–739. https://epubs.icar.org.in/index.php/IJAgS/article/view/8436

Riseh, R., Hassanisaadi, M., Vatankhah, M., Babaki, S., & Barka, E. (2022). Chitosan as a potential natural compound to manage plant diseases. International journal of biological macromolecules. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.08.109

Stojanović-Radić, Z., Pejčić, M., Dimitrijević, M., Aleksić, A., Kumar, N. V. A., Salehi, B., Cho, W. C., & Sharifi-Rad, J. (2019). Piperine major Principle of Black Pepper: A review of its bioactivity and studies. Applied Sciences, 9(20), 4270. https://doi.org/10.3390/app9204270

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. (n.d.). Pepper. In Spice crops horticulture. Agritech, TNAU. https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/horticulture/horti_spice%20crops_pepper.html