Black Pepper – King of Spices

King of spices, black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is a perennial vine producing crop that could be produced for commercial purposes.

It is originated from Western Ghats of India and spread to all the pepper growing countries in Southeast Asia, some parts of Africa, as well as Brazil and Guyana in South America.

Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand and Madagascar are the main producing countries. Black pepper is widely used in cooking and processing of food and perfumery. The quality of peppercorn can be judged from its pungency contributed by active component, piperine.

The National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute (NAREI) in its efforts to promote black pepper cultivation set up pilot plots throughout the country. Farmers are encouraged to grow black pepper vines on a large scale so as to capitalize on the very attractive price. Presently pepper corns /black pepper is being sold at $2,500 dollars per pound.

Framers interested in planting black pepper on a commercial scale could contact Mr. Ramnarace Sukhna at NAREI for technical support and guidance. Black pepper cuttings/plants are now available for sale at NAREI Mon Repos.

Commercially, black pepper is propagated through the cuttings taken from runner shoots, creeping shoots on ground and orthotropic shoots i.e. erect growing shoots. Cuttings taken from fruiting branches produce bushy or dwarf plants. Cuttings with two or three nodes from runners or primary vines root better.

Black pepper plants under good management, continues to yield up to 30 years. They start bearing 12 months after planting and full bearing commences from the third year under conditions that exist in Guyana.

Development of black pepper plantations involves minimal investment during pre-bearing period, and much emphasis should be given for proper planting material selection. It is always advisable to grow a mixture of varieties instead of one as a safeguard from diseases and insect pests. Black pepper is a crop of humid tropics and thrives on a variety of soils with a pH of 4.5 -6.0. In Guyana, it can be successfully grown in the hinterland, Upper Pomeroon and on the coastland.

Propagation
i) Bamboo method of multiplication
In ‘Bamboo method’ also called ‘Rapid Multiplication method’, a trench of 60 cm depth, 30cm width and convenient length is made.

The trench is filled with rooting mixture comprising soil, pegasse, cow manure in equal proportion. Split bamboo with the septa (or split PVC pipes of 1.25-1.5m length and 8-10cm diameter provided with artificial septa) are fixed at 45 0 angle on a strong central support, at every 30 cm gap.

Rooted cuttings are planted in the trench at one cutting per bamboo piece. The bamboo splits are filled with rooting media and the growing vine is tied to the bamboo split using banana fibers or any other natural fibers. The cuttings need to be regularly watered. As the vines grow along the split of bamboo, it needs to be regularly tied to the bamboo. For fast growth, urea (1kg), superphosphate (0.75kg) muriatic of potash (0.5kg) and magnesium sulphate (0.25 kg) in 250 liters of water may be applied at 0.25 L per vine at 2 weeks intervals.

Once the shoot reaches the top of the bamboo split, the terminal bud is nipped off and the vine is crushed at about 2 nodes above the base, in order to activate the auxiliary buds. After about 10 days, the vine is cut at the crushed point and pulled out from the bamboo split and separated as single nodes. Each node will be having good root system with it. These single nodes are rebagged in poly bags filled with potting mixture. The bags should be kept in a shed or cool, humid place and nurtured. Fresh sprouts will emerge from the axil of the leaf in about three weeks. The cuttings can be used for field planting in another one to two months.

ii) Serpentine method of multiplication
In this method, rooted cuttings are trailed horizontally over poly bags filled with potting mixture at the rate of one bag under every node. The node is firmly fixed to the mixture in the bag using broom pins so that rooting will be ensured. As the shoot grows, additional bags filled with mixture may be provided to the emerging new nodes. Good root system develops from the nodes in about three to four weeks. At this time the shoot may be cut at every internode and the bags with the rooted nodes may be collected and kept separately till the planting time. It will be better to have the system in a roofed and ventilated shed.

Establishment of plantation
Black pepper can be grown on live or dead standards or on the trees available on the backyards of the houses or other estates. With the receipt of the first rain in May, primary cuttings of Glyricidia (quickstick) or plum, are planted in pits of 50x50x50cm size filled with cow manure and top soil, at a spacing of 3x3m which would accommodate about 1111 standards per ha. Once the standards are established, black pepper can be planted.

With the onset of the rainy season, well grown healthy two to three node rooted cuttings of black pepper are planted on to these standards at one per standard on the north eastern side of the standard, in pits of 45x45x45 cm size. Before planting the cuttings, the pits are to be opened at a distance of 30cm from the standard and filled with cow manure and top soil. The tip of the cuttings may be tied to the standard using coir or banana fiber. Young vines are to given shade.

Flowering, Harvesting and Yield
Black pepper comes to flowering after about 10-12 months of planting in Guyana, once the vine is vigorously growing. The plant is self-pollinating. There may be two flowering seasons in Guyana: June-July and February-March.

It may also take about 12 days for all the flowers in the spike to open. A spike is likely to have 60-80 flowers, these develop as berries. A berry usually takes six to seven months to mature. Maturity can be visibly assessed when few berries in a spike turn orange red. At this time the whole spike can be handpicked.

A healthy vine at the third year may yield about five to seven kg fresh berries. Dry recovery may be 30%. The picked spikes are separated manually or mechanically to remove the berries. The berries are then sun dried on a clean surface for about 10 days. Mechanical separation with varying capacities of between 0.5-1.5 tons per hour is available.

The dried berries retain their characteristic black wrinkled appearance. Dipping the fresh berries in hot water for a minute before drying will enhance the appearance of the commodity. White pepper is prepared from fresh mature berries either by retting in water for about 8-10days followed by cleaning and drying, or steaming or by decorticating dry black pepper mechanically.