Cultivation of piper nigrum (Sarawak Pepper)

Published in : , Spice Literature

General pepper (piper nigrum sp.) cultivation practice

Propagation of pepper generally can be done using either two methods; cutting and seedling.
Commonly used method is through cutting.
Each cutting consists of 3 nodes of stem, separated from its mother plant.

Planting and Supporting Materials

Recommended planting distance is 2.5 M X 2.0 M which result in the density of 2000 pepper tree per hectare (practiced in both Malaysia and Sri Lanka).
Newly planted or transferred pepper planting materials need to be shed from direct sunlight. It’s noted that pepper planting materials are sensitive to heat and need protection from direct sunlight.
Pepper, being a perennial vines, need supporting which can be done by tying the vines with hard-wooden pole other supporting at interval of 30 cm. The supporting can be start as soon as the pepper reached a 1.5-2.0 M height or roughly 12 months after transfer.
Tying pepper vines is done so that the nodal region is firmly attached and pressed against its support so as to allow the root to cling on it.

Pruning

Pruning practice varies in each countries they are cultivated. In Sarawak, pepper will be allowed to reach a height of 4.0 - 6.0 M. This height is the recommended height and generally practiced as most of pepper cultivated on a sloppy area which can slant up to 60 degree.

Harvesting and yield

Harvesting is performed manually and is a labor extensive process.
Harvesting of pepper is carried out according to the need of the kind of pepper for final product i.e black pepper, white pepper or green pepper.

Sarawak White pepper:

For preparation of Sarawak white pepper, the pepper berries are harvested at a slightly advanced stage of ripeness, when the berries turn red.
After the separation of pepper berried from the spikes, they are soaked in water for 7-10 days. This will resulted in the removal of the pulp and skin.
The obtained clean and white berries are then dried in the sun. The ‘White pepper’ term refer to the color of pepper seed after going through the process describes above.

Sarawak Black pepper

For the production of black pepper, the pepper berries are harvested at a younger stage and removed from its spikes.
The pepper berries are then dried up in the sun and the pulps and skin will blackens and wrinkled over the seed.
As of well known Sarawak black pepper, the black color is very light, mild in flavor, low in volatile and non-volatile oil content.

Pest and Disease Management