Pepper
Botanical Name – Piper nigrum L.
Family – Piperaceae
Panniyur 1, Panniyur 2, Panniyur 3, Panniyur 4, Panniyur 5, Panniyur 6, Panniyur 7, Karimunda, Sreekara, Subhakara, Panchami, Pournami, IISR Thevam, IISR Malabar Excel, IISR Girimunda, IISR Sakthi, PLD-2.
Lower elevation and less shady areas- Panniyur 1
Higher elevation and more shady areas – Karimunda
Intercropping in Arecanut – Panniyur 5
Soil –
Pepper prefers a light porous and well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Water stagnation in the soil, even for a very short period, is injurious for the plant. So, heavy textured soils in locations where drainage facilities are inadequate should be avoided.
Climate –
The crop tolerates temperatures between 10° and 40°C. The ideal temperature is 23 -32°C with an average of 28°C. Optimum soil temperature for root growth is 26-28°C. A well distributed annual rainfall of 125-200 cm is considered ideal for black pepper.
June – December.
Slopes facing West and South should be avoided. Pits of 50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm size are dug at a spacing of 2 to 3 m in either direction (Panniyur 1 – 3 x 3 m).
5 to10 kg of FYM/Compost is mixed with top soil and the pits are filled. Rooted cuttings of black pepper are planted in June-July @ two per standard. Silver oak, Dadap and Jack can be used as standards and should be planted at a spacing of 7–8 m.
Manuring
Apply cattle manure or compost @ 10 kg/vine – before the onset of South West
monsoon. Apply 100:40:140 g of NPK per vine in two split doses during May – June and
September – October. Slaked lime at 500 g per vine is applied in alternate years during May –
June.
Apply Azospirillum @ 100 g/vine one month after the application of chemical
fertilizers.
Integrated nutrient management – Inorganic N 50 % of the recommended dose + FYM 10 kg
+ 50 g Azospirillum + 50 g Phosphobacteria + 200 g VAM per plant.
The manures and fertilizers are applied around the vine at a distance of 30 cm from the base
and incorporated into the soil.
Irrigation
Protective irrigation in basins during December – May at 10 days interval.
After Cultivation
Two weedings are given during the months of June – July and October – November.
The vines are to be trained to the standards. Excessive foliage of the standards may be
pruned and the height of the standards may be limited to about 6 m. To increase the berry
size, spray NAA @ 40 ppm.
Fruit Drop
The spike shedding can be reduced by foliar spray of Diammonium Phosphate 1.0 %
four times viz., before flower initiation (May), during new leaves and flower emergence
(June) before spike initiation (July) and pinhead stage of berries (August).
Plant Protection
Pests
1)Marginal gall thrips
Spray dimethoate 30 EC or chlorpyriphos 20 EC @ 2 ml/lit three rounds at monthly
interval starting from new flush formation.
2)Pollu beetle and leaf caterpillars
Spray quinalphos 25 EC @ 2 ml/lit once in July and again in October.
3)Top shoot borer
Spray quinalphos 25 EC @ 2 ml/lit on terminal shoots at monthly interval (during July– October) to protect emerging new shoots.
Foot rot
Nursery
Apply Trichoderma asperellum or Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 1 g/ kg of pot mixture
Mulch the pot mixture with 150 gauge polythene sheet for 30 days before use
Main field
Any of the following packages can be adopted twice (May – June and October – November)
Neem cake @ 500 g/vine + swabbing of Bordeaux paste upto one meter from the ground level
Trichoderma asperellum @ 20 g/vine + FYM or Bordeaux mixture 1% or metalaxyl – M 4% + mancozeb 64% WP @ 2 g/l
Neem cake @ 2 kg/vine + 0.1% metalaxyl (pre monsoon foliar spray and soil application)
Pseudomonas fluorescens (50 g) (pre and post monsoon) + neem cake @2 kg (post monsoon) + 0.1 % metalaxyl
CIB recommendation
Metalaxyl – M 4% + mancozeb 64% WP @ 2 g/L/vine as foliar spray or 3 g/L/vine as soil drench
Slow wilt
Copper oxychloride @ 0.2 % (soil drenching) or potassium phosphonate @ 0.3% or metalaxyl @ 0.1 %
Anthracnose
Foliar spray with 1% Bordeaux mixture or mancozeb @ 0.2 %
Nematode
Soil application Bacillus subtilis (BbV 57) or Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 10 g/vine
is recommended for the management of root knot and reniform nematode population in
black pepper.
Harvest
Harvesting commences from third year onwards. The harvesting season is from
November to March. Harvest is done by hand picking the whole spikes when few berries in
the spike start turning red. The berries are separated and dipped in hot water (80°C) for one
minute and sun dried for 7 to 10 days.
Yield
2 to 3 kg/vine/year.
