Production of rooted cuttings

Normally runner shoots from high yielding

and healthy vines are kept coiled on wooden
pegs fixed at the base of the wine to prevent
the shoots from coming in contact with soil
and striking roots.
 The runner shoots are separated from the
vine in Feb to March,

After trimming the leaves, cuttings of 2 to 3

nodes are planted either in the nursery beds
are polythene bags filled with fertile soils.
 Adequate shade is to be provided and
irrigated frequently.

The cuttings will strike roots and will become

ready for planting May to June
RAPID MULTIPLICATION
A technique developed in Sri lanka has
become popular in India.

In this method a trench of 0.75 mts deep and

0.30 mts wide having convenient length is
made.

The trenches are filled with rooting medium

 Split halves of bamboo with septa
or 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 45 degrees 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
portion is tied to the bamboo or PVC pipe
split in a such a way as to keep the nodes
press to the rooting medium.

The tying could be done with dried banana

sheath fiber.
 The vines are irrigated regularly.

As the vines grow filling up the bamboo or

PVC pipe splits with rooting medium are to be
continued regularly.
 Add the nutrient solution for rapid
growth.
Urea 1kg,
SSP 0.75 kg,
MOP 0.50kg ,
MGSO4 0.25kg in 250 lts of water.
The solution is applied @ 0.25 lts for
vine.
 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 auxiliary 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.

By this method multiplication is quite rapid

Shade and Shade regulation:

In India and Sri Lanka, pepper is grown under

shade.

However , the shade should be partial only.

Intense or thick shade will results in poor

flowering and fruiting, besides favouring the
incidence of Pollu-Flea beetle..
 Therefore, the shade is regulated by lopping
the branches of standards.

The standards are pruned to a height of 6 mt

during April May
Training and Pruning of Pepper vines

As the cuttings grow, the shoots are tied to

the standard at 30 cm interval, as often as
possible.

The vines are trained up the support to give

one main shoot and two lateral orthotropic
shoots.
 These are pruned regularly to encourage the
development of lateral fruiting branches,

but theses lateral branches should not be tied

to the support, as this would discourage the
bushy side growth.
How the pruning is done
 The vines are first pruned back
to 15-20 cm from the ground
level, when they developed to
8-9 nodes length.
 Second pruning is done, when
a further 9-10 nodes have been
produced, to a height of 3-4
nodes of the previous cut.
 Inthis way vines are pruned 7-
9 times until they reach the top
of the support about 3m high
 When this is achieved, the terminal
growth of vine is arrested by frequent
pinchings.

The lower portion of the vine is kept

clean and unbranched at least a meter
from the ground level
Manuring
Pepper is a perennial vine and is
maintained on the same piece of land
for over 20 years.

Soil fertility and consequent decline in

yields.

Hence, judicious and regular manuring

is very essential to get good yields,
particularly when pepper is raised as a
pure crop.
 Ten kg of FYM or compost, 100 g N, 40 g
P205 and 140 g K2O per vine per year are to
be applied to vines of three years and above
in two split doses in April-May and August
September.
 During the of planting 1/3 of the above dose
and in the second year 2/3 of the above dose
may be applied.

Manures and fertilizers are applied around

the vines at a distance of 30 cm and forked
into the soil.
 Lime may be applied @ 500 g per vine
during April in alternate years,
preferably after the receipt of summer
showers.

In case of mixed cropping, with areca

nut and coconut, fertilizers and
manures applied to the main crop are
shared by pepper vines also.
Intercultural practices

Pepper is raised as a rainfed crop.

Therefore the land should be properly

cultivated to conserve moisture in the
soil.

Wedding must be regular.

 Two diggings are given, one during May-
June and the other in October November
and finally earthed up.

Growing cover crops like Calapogonium

mucanoides, Mimosa invisa are
recommended in pepper gardens, particularly
on slopes
Harvesting

The pepper vines are allowed to

bear fruits from the third year of
planting.

The Vines flower from May June.

 Harvesting to done from
November to February in the plain
and January to March in the hills

The fruits takes 6-8 months from

flowering to ripening stage
 Harvesting of pepper is carried out according
to the kind of pepper to be prepared i.e. white
or black.

For the preparation of white pepper, the

berries are harvested at an advanced stage
of ripeness (when they turn red)

To get black pepper, the berries are gathered

at younger stage, when they are still green
 Whole spikes are harvested.

Spikes are harvested at weekly or

10 days interval,

over a period of 2-3 months.

Yield

An adult vine yields annually 0.5

1.0 kg of dried berries under Indian
conditions, depending upon the
variety, management and area of
cultivation.
 Pepper vines attain full bearing
stage in the 7th or 8th year
after planting and 19th 20th
year may be considered as the
best period.
Sterile black pepper shoot
Pepper with unripe fruits
Pepper plant growing on a support tree
Flowering pepper
Unripe Pepper fruits and leaf
Pepper Flower
 After 25 years, the yields begin to
decline, and replanting has to be
done thereafter.

The average yield of commercial

black pepper varies from 110 to
335 kg per hectare at the age of
10thyear.
Processing of peppers

Two main products are made out of pepper

Black
-- white pepper.

The methods of processing the two differ.

 Almost all the produce in India is
processed into black pepper

only a very limited quantity is

converted into white pepper
 Black pepper is used directly as a spice

Also for the extraction of pepper

oleoresin and oil

white pepper is exclusively used as

dried spices and medicinally.
Black pepper

It consists of fully developed, but unripe,

dried berries of pepper.

The harvested spikes are sun dried for 7-10

days on cement floor or mats, until the outer
skin becomes, tough, black, shrink and
wrinkled.
 Drying is carried till the moisture content gets
reduced to 10-15%.

Then the dried berries are separated from the

spikes by beating, or rubbing between the
hands or trampling them under the feet.
 The out turn of dried black
pepper from green berries
varies from 26 to 36%
depending upon the variety
White Pepper

This consists of dried ripe fruits without

pericarp (skin).
It is prepared by removing the outer-skin
along with the pulp before drying.
 White pepper is prepared by one of the two
methods

(i) Water steeping technique

(ii) Steaming or boiling technique.

Water steeping technique
 It is a traditional and a slow method.

It involves five steps

(a) Steeping

Spikes with fully ripe berried are filled in

gunny bags and are steeped in flowing water
for about 7-8 days.

During this steeping process, the skin gets

loosened from the seed
(b) Depulping

At the end, the berries are taken

out and the skin with the pulp is
removed either by rubbing
between the hands or by trampling
under the feet.
(c) Washing

These depulped seeds are then

washed and cleaned with fresh
water repeatedly (3-4 times)
(d) Drying

The cleaned seeds are sun dried

for 3-5 days on cement floors or
mats, till they become white and
the moisture content gets reduced
to 10-15%.
(e) Polishing
The dried sees are now dull white in colour,

They are further cleaned by winnowing and

polished by rubbing with a cloth.

The percentage of recovery of

white pepper is about 25% or ripe
berries.
(ii) Steaming or boiling technique

This is an improved and quick method

developed at CFTRI, Mysore,

This involves 4 steps

 Boiling:

Freshly harvested spikes

(berries) are boiled for about 15
minutes
 Depulping :

The boiled berries are then

depulped mechanically
 Bleaching:

The depulped berries are washed

thoroughly to remove the pulp, if
any, adhering to the berries and
then bleached with bleaching
powder.
 Sundrying :

The bleached berries are

sundried for 2-3 days
 The main use of pepper is as a spice in
culinary preparations, and in flavoring
processed foods.

In developed countries, Pepper is used

mainly for processing meat.

whole fruits of black pepper are added

pickles.
 Black pepper is mostly used for its
characteristic aroma, and pungency.
The aromatic odour of pepper is due to an
essential oil, while the pungency is due to
oleoresin.
 Pepper consists of an alkaloid- Piperine

Piperine stimulates the flow of saliva and

gastric juices and has a cooling effect.

In India, pepper is traditionally used in

medicine in several ways
ESSENTIAL OILS

Possible Uses: Aching muscles,

arthritis, chilblains, constipation,
muscle cramps, poor circulation,
sluggish digestion.

Constituents: Limonene, Pinene,

Myrcene, Phellandrene, Beta-
caryophyllene, Beta-bisabolene,
Sabinene, Linalol, Pinocarveol,
Alpha, Terpineol, Camphene, Alpha,
Terpenene.