The Gyeongnam Agricultural Technology Center announced on the 9th that it held an evaluation meeting for the research project 'Analysis of Pepper Hairy Root Pathogen and Development of Control Measures', which is being promoted with the Paprika Export Integration Organization (KOPA).

Pepper hairy root disease, also known as 'Crazy root', is a disease that causes abnormal proliferation of roots in hydroponic cultivation, leading to prolonged vegetative growth and delayed transition to reproductive growth, which reduces the number of flowers and fruits. This causes a decrease in productivity and economic damage to farmers, but there is no definite control method for hairy root disease yet.

In response to this problem, Gyeongnam Province identified that the cause of hairy root disease is caused by Agrobacterium bacteria and developed a 'primer kit for detecting pathogenic strains of hairy root disease' that can diagnose it quickly and accurately. This diagnostic kit can distinguish pathogenic strains from non-pathogenic strains more accurately than conventional methods. In addition, it is developing a strain that can suppress hairy root disease and is studying field application methods.

The research started in 2024 and is currently applying inhibitory strains to some farms. In this evaluation meeting, we visited farms where inhibitory strains were applied and evaluated the effect in practice. In addition, the meeting discussed the direction of hairy root disease research this year and discussed practical control measures to minimize damage to farmers by preventing and spreading hairy root disease.

Jeong Chan-sik, head of the Agricultural Technology Center, said, "Through this evaluation meeting, we shared the developed diagnostic kit and the results of applying inhibitory strains with farmers and related organizations to confirm their applicability in the actual agricultural field." "We will continue to develop practical control measures for hairy root disease to minimize damage to farmers and establish a safe production system for paprika."