Piper nigrum
Piper nigrum
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Piper nigrum is a plant of the hot and humid lowland tropics, where it grows best at elevations up to 500 metres, but can be grown up to 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 35°c, but can tolerate 10 - 40°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,500 - 4,000mm, but tolerates 2,000 - 5,500mm[1]. Grows best in sheltered positions in semi-shade[2]. Prefers a neutral soil rich in organic matter[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7, tolerating 5 - 7.5[1]. Level ground is most suitable for the production of pepper, provided there is no flooding, but it is often grown in rolling country or on hill slopes of varying steepness[1]. The plant begins to bear in 3 - 4 years, can reach full production after 7 years and has an economic life of about 12 - 20 years[1]. Optimum yields at low capital input are 6 tonnes per hectare of the unprocessed (green) peppers; 2 tonnes of the sundried (black) peppers; or 1.67 tonnes of the washed and dried (white) peppers[1]. In gardens with higher inputs, yields may be 8 - 9 tonnes of green pepper in the first harvest and 12 - 20 tonnes in the sixth or seventh harvest[1]. The root system can be 4 metres or more deep[1].
Propagation
Seed - ripe, shade-dried seeds with the mesocarp removed germinate in 2 - 3 weeks[3]. Cuttings - very easy and the most common commercial method of propagation[2, 3]. Use shoots of wood, about 45cm long, taken from parts of the plant that have already flowered[2]. Ample roots should have formed within 2 months[3]. Direct planting of cuttings is sometimes practiced[3]. Division of stolons or suckers. These grow away well, but flowering spike formation will be retarded by 2 years, because the formation of lateral branches on the orthotropic stem is delayed[3]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Piper+nigrum>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [2]Tropical Food Gardens — Norrington. L. · Bloomings Books (Melbourne) · 2001 · ISBN 1-876473-41-x ↩︎Excellent little book giving some basic information on a range of plants.
- [3]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
- [4]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
- [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [6]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
- [7]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
- [8]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
- [9]Medicinal Plants in Vietnam — Nguyen Van Dan & Doan Thi Nhu · World Health Organisation · 1989 · ISBN 92 9061 101 4 ↩︎An excellent book, giving information on over 200 plants, their medicinal compounds and applications.