Plant protection
Pests
Pollu beetle

• Control

• Control

• Control

Disease
Quick wilt or foot rot

• Control

• Control

• Control

Introduction:

Black pepper (piper nigrum L.), the king of spices, is obtained from the perennial climbing vine. It is one of the important and earliest known spices produced and exported from India. It is grown in Kerala (94%), Karnataka (5%), Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and North eastern states especially Assam.

Requirement

• Climate

Pepper is a plant of humid tropics requiring adequate rainfall and humidity. It grows successfully between 20^o north and south latitude and from sea level upto 1500 metres. The crop tolerates temperatures between 10 ^o and 40 ^o C. A well-distributed annual rainfall of 125-200 cm is considered ideal for pepper.

• Soil

Pepper can be grown in a wide range of soils such as clay loam, red loam, sandy loam and lateritic soils with a pH of 4.5-6.0. It thrives best on virgin soil rich in organic matter.

Varieties

Karimunda, Kottanadan, Narayakkodi, Aimpiriyan, Neelamundi, Kuthiravally, Balancotta, Kalluvally, M alligesara, Uddagare, Panniyur-1, Panniyur-2 (Krishna), Panniyur-4 (Shima), Panniyur-4, Panniyur-5, Sreekara, Subhakara, Panchami, Pournami.

Propagation

Pepper is propagated by cuttings raised mainly from the runner shoots. Runner shoots from high yielding and healthy vines are kept coiled on wooden pegs fixed at the base of the vine to prevent the shoots from coming in contact with soil and striking roots. The runner shoots are separated from the vine in February-March and after trimming the leaves, cuttings of 2-3 nodes each are planted either in nursery beds or polythene bags filled with fertile soil. Cuttings from middle 1/3 of the shoots are desirable. Adequate shade is to be provided and irrigated frequently. The cuttings will strike roots and become ready for planting in May-June.

Planting

Pepper cuttings are generally planted with the onset of the southwest monsoon. When pepper is grown as pure crop, pits of 0.5m cube are dug at a spacing of 2.5x2.5m and Erythrina stem cuttings of 2m length or its two-year-old seedlings are planted on receipt of early monsoon showers. With the onset of regular rains, 2 or 3 rooted cuttings are planted around the base of the standard nearly 30 cm away. But in the case of coconut and areacanut which have a thick intercoiled root net close to the trunk, pepper cuttings are to be planted 100-120 cm away from the tree trunk which are about 8-9m high. Initially, the vines may be allowed to climb on a stick or pole about 2m tall, which is tied to the trunk in a slanting position. When the vine has attained sufficient length it may be separated from the temporary stake and the lower leaves may be nipped off. Pepper is grown as monocrop as well as a mixed crop. As a mixed crop, it is grown with arecanut, coconut, mango, jack etc. Pepper is also a suitable intercrop in coffee estates where the shade trees serve as good standards for them.

Intercultural Operations

The young vines should be protected from hot sun during summer months by providing them with artificial shade. Adequate mulch with green leaf saw dust or coir dust or organic matter should be given towards the end of northeast monsoon. The base of the vines should not be disturbed to avoid root damage. Lopping of the standards should be done carefully from the fourth year onwards, not only to regulate the height of the standards, but also to shade the pepper vines optimally. Pruning the top of the vine after it has reached the required height i.e. 6m is normally practised when it is trained on standards like silver oak, coconut, arecanut for convenience of picking. From the fourth year, usually two diggings are given, one during May-June and the other towards the end of south-west monsoon in October-November.

Manuring

About 10kg of well rotten cattle manure or compost is given in April-May. Fertilizers to supply 100 g Nitrogen (N), 40g Phosphorus (P₂O₅) and 140 g Potash (K₂O) per standard for vines of three years and above may be applied annually in two split doses in April-May and August-September. During the first year of planting, 1/3 of the above dose and in the second year 2/3 of the above dose may be given. Manures are applied around the vines at a distance of 30cm and forked into the soil.

Plant protection
Pests
Pollu beetle

Grubs bore into the berries and cause black colour and they crumble when pressed.

• Control

Spray endosulfan (0.05%) twice (June and September)

Top shoot borer

Caterpillars bore into the tender shoot turning them to black and drying up.

• Control

Spray endosulfan 0.05% twice when new shoots emerge.

Leaf gall thrips

Affected leaves become thick malformed, crinkled.

• Control

Spray monocrotophos 0.05%.

Disease
Quick wilt or foot rot

Collar infection causes sudden collapse of the vine, other symptoms and foliar yellowing and defoliation.

• Control

Provide proper drainage. Chemical before monsoon and after monsoon.

Pollu disease

Brown sunken patches seen in the young berries, develops characteristic cross splitting and finally turn to black in colour and dry.

• Control

Spray 1% Bordeaux mixture.

Slow decline or slow wilt

During dry months, foliar yellowing defoliation and die back symptoms appear in vines and during monsoon vines recover and put forth fresh foliage and again they show decline symptoms during dry months.

Control

Remove the severely affected vines, treat the planting pit with Phorate @ 15g or carbofuran @50g at the time of planting, apply Phorate @30g or carbofuran @100g/vine twice in a year.

Harvesting and yield

Pepper vines start yielding usually from the 3^rd or 4^th year. The vines flower in May-June. It takes 6-8 months from flowering to ripening stage. Harvesting is done from the November to February in the plains and January to March in the hills. When one or two berries on the spike turn bright or red, the whole spike is plucked. One hectare plantation of 7 or 8 years old gives about 800-1000kg of black pepper.

Curing

For making good quality black pepper of uniform colour, the separated berries are collected a perforated bamboo basket or vessel and the basket with the berries is dipped in boiling water for one minute. The drained berries are sun dried on a clean bamboo mat or cement floor. White pepper is prepared by removing the outer skin and the pulp below it before drying the berries. Spikes with fully ripe berries are filled in gunny bags and steeped in flowing water for about 7 days. Outer rind of the berries is then removed by rubbing them with hands in a bucket of water and further cleaning the seeds with fresh water. The cleaned seeds are dried for 3-4 days. The recovery of white pepper is about 25% of ripe berries while that of black pepper is about 33%.