Black pepper

Black pepper, Piper nigrum, is a climbing perennial plant in the family Piperaceae which is grown for its fruits. The fruits are used to produce black, white and green peppercorns which are commonly used as a spice in cooking. Black pepper may be vining or have bushy, wooden stems. The plant has simple, alternating leaves which are oval in shape and produces clusters, or spikes, of 50 to 150 flowers. The fruits develop on the flower spike and are small spherical fruits which are green and ripen to red. Each stem can produce 20–30 spikes. Black pepper can grow to be 10 m (33 ft) in height but under cultivation it is usually restricted to 3-4 m (10–13 ft). It is a perennial plant which can live for over 30 years, with a commercial lifespan of 12–20 years. Black pepper may also be referred to as pepper or Madagascar pepper and is native to South and Southeast Asia.


Black pepper plants are used to produce black, white and green pepper. Black pepper is the product of drying the fruit to produce the familiar black peppercorns. White pepper is produced by soaking the fruits in water for approximately a week to recover the seed from the decomposed fruit. Green pepper is produced by drying the unripe fruit in a way that retains the green colour. Green peppercorns are often conserved by pickling.


Basic requirements Black pepper is a tropical plant and does not tolerate frost. Plants will not tolerate temperatures below 12˚C (53.6˚F). The plants will grow best in wet, tropical climates at ambient temperatures between 25 and 30˚C (77-86˚F) in a deep, well-draining soil with a good capacity to retain water. The soil should be rich in organic matter with a pH between 5.5 and 6.0. The plants require an annual rainfall of approximately 2000 mm and will require additional irrigation in drier areas. Propagation Black pepper can be propagated from dry seeds or, as is most common for commercial production, from cuttings or stolons of established plants. Cuttings are usually taken from the secondary runners of the plant and should possess one or two leaves. Cuttings are then rooted in a seedbed before transplanting when the plant has 4-7 new leaves. In cultivation, a trellis is used to support the plant. The trellis should be at least 4 m (13 ft) high. Black pepper should be planted using an 8 × 8 m (26 × 26 ft) spacing (i.e. 8 m between individual plants and 8 m between rows).


Anandaraj, M. & Sarma, Y. R. (1995). Diseases of Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) and their management. Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops. 4 (1): 17-23. Available at: http://220.227.138.214:8080/dspace/bitstream/123456789/150/1/Vol.IV%2BNo.1%2B. [Accessed 07 November 14]. Free to access. CABI Crop Protection Compendium. (2008). Piper nigrum datasheet. Available at: http://www.cabi.org/cpc/datasheet/41374. [Accessed 07 November 14]. Paid subscription required. Nelson, S. C. & Cannon-Eger, K. T. (2011). Farm and forestry production and marketing profile for Black pepper (Piper nigrum). In Elevitch, C. R. (ed.). Speciality crops for Pacific Island agroforestry. Permanent Agriculture Resources (PAR). Available at: http://www.agroforestry.net/images/pdfs/Black_pepper_specialty_crop.pdf. [Accessed 07 November 14]. Free to access.