The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) has received a patent for black pepper micronutrient foliar formulation.
A press release said here on Thursday that it was in 2013 that the institute submitted an application for a patent to the patent office under the Central government. The technology has been licensed to seven entrepreneurs on non-exclusive basis for commercial production. More entrepreneurs are likely to apply for technology licence for the patented product.
ICAR-IISR has developed crop specific designer micronutrient foliar formulations for major spices (black pepper, ginger, turmeric, and cardamom) to overcome micronutrient deficiencies and to meet the physiological and metabolic requirements of spice crops.
The patent was issued for black pepper-specific micronutrient formulation, and it was developed by a team of scientists, including Dr. V. Srinivasan, Dr. R. Dinesh, and Dr. S. Hamza. The micronutrient mixture for black pepper improves the quality of the produce. It is environment-friendly, and the micronutrient formulation developed by the institute is already popular among the farmer community, said J. Rema, Director, ICAR-IISR.
The micronutrient mixture for black pepper has been designed to fulfil the requirements of the black pepper crop by maintaining optimal ratio of secondary micronutrients like magnesium, zinc and boron in the leaf. The crop-specific micronutrient formulation is recommended for black pepper as a foliar spray during spike initiation with the onset of the monsoon and afterwards at monthly intervals.
The application of black pepper micronutrient mixture enhances the quality of the produce even as contributing to the health of vines through balanced nutrition. Over the years, the technology has reached farmers in around 10% of the cropped area.
With the new patent, ICAR-IISR has received patents for six of its technologies. Other technologies include a micronutrient composition for turmeric plant and a process for its preparation and two micronutrient compositions for ginger and a process for its preparation, microbial encapsulation technology, and seed coating formulation.
