Allspice/ Jamaica pepper / Myrtle pepper / Pimento
Botanical Name – Pimenta dioica Lindl.
Family – Myrtaceae
Deep rich loams with high humus content and lateritic soils are best suited
Altitude : 1000 m above mean sea level.
Annual rainfall : 100-200 cm
Ideal temperature : 270°C
Seeds
Seeds are collected from high yielding and regular bearing trees. Seeds are extracted after soaking the fruits overnight in water and rubbing them in a sieve and washing with clean water. The seeds are ready for sowing after drying them in shade.
Nursery beds of 1.2 m width are prepared with light soil incorporated with organic matter or a mixture of sand and coir dust or coir dust alone. After sowing, the beds are mulched to hasten germination. Dried leaves, paper and damp sacks are used as mulches.
Germination takes place 15 days after sowing. After three weeks, the seedlings may be transferred to polybags
Air layering in the month of January.
9-10 months old seedlings of 25-30 cm height are used for field planting
Spacing
6 m x 6 m. Since the plant is dioecious in nature, it is desirable to keep a male:
female ratio of 1:10 in plantation.
Fertilizers
FYM (10 Kg) + 20:180:50 g of NPK per tree in the first year. For grown up trees of
15 years or more, FYM (50 kg) + 300:250:750 g of NPK / tree are applied in two split doses.
Apply manures in shallow trenches dug around the plant 1-1.5 m away from the tree.
Harvesting
Clonally propagated plants start flowering in three years while the seed propagated
plants in 6 years. Soil application of paclobutrazol (1.25g/tree) induces flowering, increased
number of panicles, flowers and setting of berries which in turn resulting in higher yield.
Fully developed green berries are harvested.
Yield
20-25 kg dry berries per year/ tree.
0.7 to 2.9 per cent oil yield from dried leaves
0.35 to 1.25 per cent oil yield from fresh leaves
