Black Pepper

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) probably originated less than 10 MYA (Miocene epoch), coinciding with the intensification of the monsoon climate in peninsular India. The Western Ghats, being the center of origin of black pepper, is the only location in the world where the plants are naturally distributed and is the existing source of wild germplasm. The Piper in Southeast Asia consists of ∼600 species; about 84 species are reported from the tropical evergreen forests of India. This chapter discusses the present state of knowledge from a historical perspective, the history and origin, interrelationships among the species of Piper in the Western Ghats, taxonomy, botanical aspects, anatomical features, cytology and pollen morphology, breeding, and varietal development including biotechnological approaches of black pepper. A brief account of the chemistry of black pepper is provided, including the chemical composition of essential oil and the pungent principle piperine. The chapter also discusses soil and climate suitability, propagation and planting methods, suitable shade trees, and after care cultural techniques that are essential for proper establishment of the crop. Targeted yield equations for predicting nutrient requirements to get fixed yields in soils with varying fertility levels and site-specific nutrient management and crop-specific micronutrient application to enhance the yield and quality and effect of management systems including organic management and cropping systems on profitability and quality of black pepper are discussed in detail. Details on primary processing techniques like decorning, washing, grading, drying methods, garbling, grading, and quality requirements of different traded grades are discussed with information on machinery specifications for the production of clean black pepper. The chapter also covers exhaustively the variety of products that can be made from green, black, and white pepper and other by-products, including medicinal values and its nutraceutical and functional properties detail.