RAPID MULTIPLICATION OF PEPPER

S.ESWARA REDDY

Botanical name: Piper nigrum Family: Piperaceae Introduction Pepper is the most important of all the spices and popularly known as the king of spices. . Propagation: Black pepper develops three types of aerial shoots (i) primary stem with long internodes and adventitious roots which cling to standard (ii) runner roots which originate from the base of the vines also have long inter node which strike roots at each node and (iii) fruit bearing lateral branches with limited growth Cuttings are raised mainly from the runner shoots through terminal shoots can also be used .cuttings from the lateral branches are seldom used since in addition to reduction in the number of fruiting shoots .the veins raised from them are generally short lived and bushy in habit. However rooted lateral branches are useful in raising pepper in pots Vegetative propagation: 1: production of rooted cuttings: Normally runner shoots from high yielding and healthy veins are kept coiled on wooden pegs fixed at the base of the vine. To prevent the shoot from coming in contact with soil and striking roots.

The runner shoots are separated from the vine in Feb.-mar and after trimming the leaves cuttings of 2-3 nodes. Each are planted either in nursery beds or polythene bags filled with fertile soil

Adequate shade is to be provided and irrigated frequently The cuttings will strike roots and will become ready for planting in May-June 2: Propagation by seed Pepper plants can also be raised from seeds .fully ripened berries are collected at the time when large quantities are available The berries are soaked in water overnight and later rubbed with a paste of cow dung The treated seeds are sown in the nursery The seeds germinate with in a month and are ready for transplanting by about 45 days. In India, transplanting is done usually in Jul-Aug it is also a practice to sow the seeds with seed coat after drying them for three days Seeds are viable up to 20 days after harvesting The progenies are often of mixed characters, since pepper is a cross pollinated crop ,due to this defect , planting of seedlings is not recommended and they take nearly 7-8 years for bearing 3 :Rapid Multiplication Method A technique developed in Srilanka has become popular in India. In this method a trench of 0.75mts deep and 0.30mts wide having convenient length is made. The trenches filled with rooting medium. Split halves of bamboo with

septa are split halves of PVC pipes having 1.25 to 1.50 mts length and 8 to 10 cms diameter provided with plastic septa at 30cms intervals are fixed with 45degress angle on a strong support. The bamboos can be arrange touching one another. Rooted cuttings are planted in the trench @ one cutting each for one bamboo or PVC pipe split. The lower portion of the bamboo are filled with a rooting medium and the growing is tied to the bamboo or PVC pipe split in a such a way as to keep the notes press to the rooting medium. The typing could be done with dried banana sheath fibers. The vines are irrigated regularly. As the vines grown up. Filling up the bamboo or PVC pipe splits with rooting medium are to be continued regularly When the vine reaches the top the terminal bud is nipped off and the vine is crushed at about three nodes above the base, to activate the axillary buds. After about 10 days each vine is cut at the crushed point and removed from the rooting medium and each one is separated. The nodal cutting with the bunch of roots intact is planted in poly bags should be kept filled with pot mixture. Care should be taken to keep above the soil. The poly bags should kept in a cool humid place or should be covered with thin polythene sheet to retain high humidity. The buds start developing in about three weeks when the poly bags can be removed and kept in shade.

25 NOVEMBER 2010