Selection of site:-
Sites with slight to moderate slope are ideal for pepper cultivation, as they promote drainage. Slopes facing south are to be avoided as far as possible. When such slopes are to be used for cultivation, the young plants may be sufficiently protected from the scorching sun during summer.
Selection of mother plants:-
Cultivate only varieties, which are proven to be highly productive. Select mother plants, which give regularly high yields and possess other desirable attributes such as vigorous growth, maximum number of spikes per unit area, long spikes, close setting of berries, disease tolerance etc. Selected mother plants should be in the age group of 5-12 years. Mark and label selected mother plants in October-November.
Raising rooted cuttings:-
Pepper is propagated vegetatively from cuttings. Select runner shoots produced at the base of mother plants and keep them coiled and raised to prevent from striking roots in the soil. Separate them from the vines in February-March. The middle one-third portion of runner shoot is preferred for planting. Very tender and too hard portions of the shoots are to be avoided. The shoots are cut into pieces with 2-3 nodes in each. Leaves, if any, are to be clipped off leaving a small portion of the petioles on the stem. Dipping the lower cut end (up to 2 cm) of the cuttings in 1000 ppm solution of 3-indol butyric acid (IBA) for 45 seconds will increase root formation and development. The solution can be prepared by dissolving 1 g of IBA in one litre of water containing 3-5 g of sodium carbonate (washing soda). The dipping period of 45 seconds should be strictly adhered to, as any deviation from this may be injurious. Treating the cuttings with Seradix B2 is equally effective. But IBA treatment is cheaper and hence is recommended for large nurseries where technical supervision is available. Seradix B2 can be conveniently used by farmers and small-scale nurseries. Plant the treated cuttings in nursery beds or preferably in polythene bags or baskets filled with potting mixture. The potting mixture is prepared by mixing two parts of fertile topsoil, one part of river sand and one part of well rotten cattle manure. When polythene bags are used, sufficient number of holes (16-20) may be provided at the base to ensure good drainage. The cuttings should be planted at least one node deep in the soil. The cutting after planting should be kept under good shade. In large nurseries, pandals are to be constructed for this purpose. The cuttings are to be well protected from direct sunlight and frequent watering is recommended in the nursery to maintain a humid and cool atmosphere around the cuttings. Watering 2-3 times a day is sufficient. Heavy watering, which makes the soil slushy and causes waterlogging is to be avoided.
Planting:-
Planting of standards is to be taken up in April-May with the onset of pre-monsoon showers. Murukku (Erythrina indica) karayam or killingil (Garuga pinnata), Ailanthus sp., subabul (Leucaenea leucocephala) etc. are suitable standards for growing pepper. In high altitude areas, dadap (E. lithosperma) and silver oak (Grevillea robusta) can be successfully used as standards for pepper. Seedlings of subabul and silver oak are to be planted 2-3 years before planting pepper. The cuttings of standards are to be planted in narrow holes of 40 to 50 cm depth. The spacing recommended is 3 x 3 m on plain lands and 2 m between plants in rows across the slope and 4 m between rows on sloppy lands. The soil should be well pressed around the standards to avoid air pockets and keep the standards firm in the soil.
For planting pepper, prepare pits on the northern side of standards, 15 cm away from it. The pit size should be 50 x 50 x 50 cm. Fill the pits with a mixture of topsoil and compost or well rotten cattle manure @ 5 kg/pit. With the onset of southwest monsoon in June-July, plant 2-3 rooted cuttings in the pits at a distance of about 30 cm away from the standards. Press the soil around the cuttings to form a small mound slopping outward and away from the cuttings to prevent water stagnation around the plants. The growing portions of the cuttings are to be trailed and tied to the standards. Provide shade to the plants if the land is exposed and if there is a break in the rainfall. When pepper is grown on coconut or arecanut trees, the pepper cuttings are to be planted 1-1.5 m away from the trunk of the trees. Trail the pepper vines on a temporary stake for 1-2 years. When they attain sufficient length to reach the tree trunk, remove the stake without causing damage to the vines and tie the pepper plants on to the tree trunk and trail them on it.
Management after planting:-
If the terrain of the land is sloppy or uneven, carry out contour bunding or terracing to prevent soil erosion. Carry out digging around the standards and vines at a radius of about 1 m from the base or in the entire plantation, twice during the year, the first at the onset of southwest monsoon and the second towards the end of northeast monsoon. Weeding around the plants is to be done according to necessity. However, in foot rot affected gardens, digging should be avoided and weeds removed by slashing. In the early stages, tie the vines to the standards, if found necessary.
Where pepper is grown on a plantation scale, growing of cover crops like Calapagonium muconoides is recommended. When such cover crops are grown, they are to be cut back regularly from the base of the plants to prevent them from twining along with the pepper vines. Lowering of vines after one year’s growth will promote lateral branch production.
Intercropping of pepper gardens with ginger, turmeric, colocasia and elephant foot yam is advantageous. Banana as an intercrop in yielding gardens reduces pepper yield. Therefore, this is not recommended beyond three to four years after planting of pepper vines. However, in the early years, banana provides shade to the young plants and protects them from drying up during summer months.
When pepper is grown in open places, shading and watering of the young seedlings may be done during summer months for the first 1 to 3 years according to necessity. The young plants may be completely covered with dry arecanut leaves, coconut leaves or twigs of trees until summer months are over. Mulching the basins of pepper vines during summer months is highly advantageous. Saw dust, arecanut husk and dry leaves are suitable mulching materials. Removal of unwanted terminal shoot growths and hanging shoots should be done as and when necessary.
Prune and train the standards in March-April every year to remove excessive overgrowth and to give them a proper shape. The effective height of the standard is to be limited to about 6 m. A second pruning of the standards may be done in July-August, if there is excessive shade in the garden.
Underplanting:-
After regular bearing for about 20 years, the vines of most varieties start declining in yield. The age of decline in yield varies with variety and agroclimatic and management factors. So underplanting should be attempted at about 20 years after planting or when a regular declining trend in yield appears. The old and senile vines can be removed 3-5 years after underplanting depending up on the growth of the young vines.
Bush pepper:-
By planting lateral branches (plagiotropes) of pepper, the vine can be grown as a bush. One-year-old lateral branches with 3-5 nodes are to be planted in nursery during March-April for pre-rooting after treating the cut ends with 1000 ppm solution of IBA for 45 seconds. Rooting percentage of laterals is less than 20%. Only well-rooted and established plants are to be used for transplanting. The rooted cuttings are to be planted at 3-5 per pit or per pot. Fertilizers can be applied @ 1.0, 0.5 and 2.0 g/pot of N, P2O5 and K2O respectively at bimonthly interval. Alternatively, application of 15 g groundnut cake (or) 33 g of neem cake can also meet the N requirement of the crop. The bushy nature of the plant will have to be ensured by proper pruning of the hanging shoots. The potted plants are to be kept preferably under partial shade. It is necessary that re-potting is carried out after every two years.