Varieties


Varieties
    The germplasm collection of black pepper at IISR is 2,776 (2,492 indigenous, 5 exotic and 279 wild). In India, out of about 100 varieties which are under cultivation, only ten have assumed commercial importance. The distinguishing characters of some of the important varieties are as follows.
    Cheriyakaniyakkadan
    • The leaves are small and elliptic; the spikes are of medium length, closely set with medium-sized dark-green fruits. It is a popular type and bears regularly, the yield is heavy (42% dried pepper) and of high quality, it is wilt resistant and popular in north and central Travancore (Kerala).
    Cheriakodi
    • The leaves are narrow, and dark green; the spikes are short, with dark or pale-green fruits, which are the smallest among all the types.
    • The plant is a dwarf and sturdy type, bearing in alternate years, and of a high quality.
    • It yields 38% dried pepper and is popular in north Travancore and north Malabar (Kerala).
    Daddagya
    • The leaves are broad and the spikes are long, and curved.
    • The fruits are large among Mysore types. It is a uniform yielder, esteemed for making white pepper; it yields 38% dried pepper.
    • It is popular in North Kanara (Karnataka).
    Kalluvally
    • It is a promising cultivar of north Kerala, being a hardy and regular yielder. The leaves are medium, ovate, elliptic and the spikes are medium and are the twisting type due to very thick setting. The berries are small to medium, heavy and have high driage (about 40%). It is a regular bearer and reportedly tolerant to water stress and diseases. Studies have shown that it is moderately tolerant to Ph ytophthora wilt. Though it is a very promising cultivar, its distribution is rather restricted to settlement areas of the submontane pepper tracts of Wynad and Cannanore districts.
    • The Kalluvally found in many areas in Cannanore and north Wynad does not conform to the above description. More than one cultivar is known by this name and some of these are rather poor yielders. They do not seem to be as hardy as the name indicates. The Kalluvally types are also found to differ in quality factors. For example, three Kalluvally types gave the following values; oleoresin (%) 8.8, 10.9 and 8.4; piperine (%) 4.2, 4.6 and 5.4, essential oil (%) 3.4, 0.4 and 3.0 and starch (%) 31.5, 29.0 and 20.7.
    Kaniakkadan
    • The name Kaniakkadan appears to have been derived from Kaniakkar, a tribal sect inhabitating the hilly Western Ghat areas of the present day ldukki district. There are four different Kaniakkadan types. These are Cheriyakaniyakkadan, Valiakaniakkadan, Karutha Kaniakkadan and Valutha Kaniakkadan, of which the first two are more important.
    • Cheriyakaniyakkadan is a popular cultivar of the eastern parts of Kottayam and QuiIon districts. It is also commonly found in many areas of north Kerala. It is a bisexual type, with small elliptical leaves, medium-long spikes and medium-sized berries. It is an average and regular bearer and has 30% driage. It gives 9% oleoresin, 3.9% piperine and 3.7% essential oil.
    • Valiakaniakkadan has slightly larger leaves, longer spikes, and bold and heavy berries, and its berry setting is good. It is a moderately high yielding type.
    • The other two Kaniyakkadans are also moderate yielders.
    Arakkulamunda
    • This is a moderately good and regular bearer from the central area of Kerala.
    • It derives its name from a village Arakkulam in the Thodupuzha taluk of Idukki district.
    • It is commonly found in the settlement areas of north Kerala.
    • It yields regularly and comes to maturity earlier than most other cultivars.
    • The spikes are medium-long and the berries are bold and heavy.
    • This cultivar gives 9.8% oleoresin, 4.4% piperine and 4.7% essential oil.
    Balan cotta
    • This cultivar is confined to north Kerala and grows very vigorously. It has the largest leaves among all the Kerala cultivars. The vines are large, growing to the top of the large supporting trees like mango and jackfruit.
    • The spikes are medium long to long, the setting moderately good, and the berries are bold and pale-green. The variety is early to medium in duration, the berries give about 30% driage. It gives 9.3% oleoresin, 5.1% essential oil and 4.2% piperine. Its oil content is high and so has a very high flavour quality.
    • Balancotta is reportedly tolerant to moisture stress and is also somewhat tolerant to Phytophthora wilt. In the Malanad areas of North Kanara, this cultivar is grown under the name Malabar Pepper, especially in Sagar, Koppa, Sirsi and adjoining areas.
    Karimcotta
    • The leaves are large, dark green and the spikes are short and curved with closely-set, large, dark-green berries.
    • It is a hardy, regular bearer and a good yielder. It yields 42% dried pepper.
    • It is popular in the north Travancore and north Malabar areas of Kerala.
    Kartmunda
    • The name Karimunda might have come from the bluish-black tender shoots and dark-green leaves and berries. It is the most popular cultivar grown throughout Kerala. This had been the traditional cultivar of central Kerala comprising Palai, Ponkunnam and the adjoining areas.
    • The cultivar is bisexual and is characterised by small more or less oval leaves and short to medium-long, closely-set spikes.
    • The spikes are 4 to 10 cm long and even more in certain cases, with a mean length of around 6.5 cm. In central Kerala, most of the vines have short, well-filled spikes, but the spikes found in the Idukki district and also in parts of Wynad are much longer.
    • It is a prolific and regular bearer, having medium-sized berries of good driage (35%) and yields good quality pepper. This cultivar has about 11% oleoresin, 4.4% piperine and 4.0% essential oil content.
    • Its flowering time is in May-June, coinciding with the monsoon. The irrigated plants flower almost continuously. This cultivar is of medium maturity, and is suitable for intercropping and also for high density monocropping.
    Kottanadan
    • It is the most popular pepper cultivar in South Kerala. This is a vigorous growing bisexual variety with large, broad, ovate leaves, long spikes, high fruit set and medium-sized berries.
    • The cultivar is a high and regular yielder. Studies have shown that Kottanadan has the highest oleoresin content (17.8%).
    • It has a high piperine content too (6.6%), though the volatile oil is comparatively less (2.5% to 4.2%). It gives about 37% driage and produces high quality, heavy pepper.
    • In the Wynad area, Kottanadan is grown as Aimpiriyan, the name being derived from the fact that berries are arranged in 5 distinct rows on the spike. In south Kerala, it flowers by April-May and is ready for harvest by January. In Wynad, it matures late and comes to harvest only by April.
    • Kumbhakodi, a cultivar grown in certain areas of Quilon, seems to be a variant of Kottanadan/Aimpiriyan.
    Kuthiravally
    • A south Kerala type, now found in many pepper-growing areas throughout Kerala, Kuthiravally is a moderately high yielder, but an alternate bearer. The ovate leaves are medium-large, the spikes are very long and slender (like a horse's tail, hence the name Kuthiravally) and the flowers are bisexual.
    • The berries are medium-large, having high driage (over 39%). It yields about 15% oleoresin, 6.0% piperine and 4.5% essential oil. Kuthiravally thus produces high quality pepper.
    • A cultivar called Thommankodi, grown in certain areas in eastern parts of Calicut (Koodaathai, Anakkampoyil areas), seems to be a variant of Kuthiravally. In Thommankodi, the spikes are slightly shorter and the berry filling somewhat better than those of Kuthiravally. A quality analysis of this cultivar has not been carried out.
    • Aranavalan, a cultivar found in the Malayatoor-Kaladi areas, also seems to be a variant of Kuthiravally.
    Malligesara
    • This is the common cultivar of North Kanara district of Karnataka. In the Malnad areas of North Kanara, this is usually intercropped with arecanut.
    • Two types of Malligesara are known. Karimalligesara and Bilimalligesara, which can be differentiated based on the anthcyanin colouration of the emerging shoots.
    • In Karimalligesara it is purple- white and in Bilimalligesara it is pale-green.
    • It is a moderate yielder, having medium-large leaves and spikes.
    Narayakkodi
    • This is another central Kerala cultivar from the Kottayam¬Champakkara-Mallappally tract, but is now found in many settlement areas throughout Kerala. The leaves are small to medium, ovate and have a characteristic twisting that results from a thick berry setting.
    • The persistent stigmatic base looks like a 'pin' and hence the name `Narayakkodi' (Narayam is a long iron-nail like tool used in the olden days for writing on palm leaves). It is a regular average yielder, having high driage (37.5%). It gives 11% oleoresin, 5.4% piperine and 4.0% essential oil.
    • The farmers in central Kerala are of the opinion that `Narayakkodil has a longer life span than `Karimundal and is also much less affected by diseases. Studies conducted in the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Regional Station, Calicut, have shown that Narayakkodi is more tolerant to foot-rot caused by Phytophthora than most other cultivars.
    • The following are some of the varieties and hybrids released from the Pepper Research Station, Panniyur, Taliparamba, Cananore district, Kerala and National Research Centre for Spices (NRCS), Calicut.
    Panniyur-1
    • This is the first released black pepper and is evolved through hybridisation. This was one of the progeny of Uthiran Kotta x Cheriyakaniyakadan and was released in 1971. This variety out-yielded all the existing varieties at that time.
    • The high productivity of this variety was due to the recombination of favourable and complementary yield components from the diverse parents. The chief attributes of this variety are the vigorous nature of the vine, large cordate leaves, non-pigmented growing tip, long spikes and bold berries.
    • It performs well only under adequate sunlight. It gives an average yield of 2.2 kg green pepper per vine and 1,242 kg/ha dry pepper. Its potential yield is 8800 kg per hectare. The percentage of bisexual flowers is 99.92 per cent, female (%) 0.07 and male (%) 0.01.
    • The setting percentage is 96 and the dry recovery is 35.3%. The contents of piperine, oleoresin and essential oil are 5.3, 11.8 and 3.5%, respectively.
    Panniyur-2
    • This was a clone from the open-pollinated progeny of the cultivar Balankotta and released in 1989 for high yields. This cultivar is popular in the northern districts of Kerala and the South Kanara district of Karnataka.
    • It tolerates shade better than the other cultivars. Panniyur¬2 is vigorous in growth and has a non-pigmented growing tip. It gives a yield of 4.5 kg green pepper per vine with a dry recovery of 35.7%. The average dry pepper yield is 2,570 kg and the potential yield is 3,313 kg/ha.
    • The piperine and oleoresin content of the berries is 6.6 and 10.9%, respectively.
    Panniyur-3
    • This hybrid is a progeny of the cross Uthirankotta x Cheriyaka¬niyakkadan made in 1973. It was released in 1989 for its high yields. Its characteristics are similar to Panniyur-1, but it has faint pigmentation on the growing tip.
    • The percentage of bisexual and female flowers are 99.9 and 0.1%, respectively. The setting percentage is 89.2. The average yield of green berry per vine is 4.4 kg and the dry recovery is 27.8%. Similarly, the average yield of dry berry is 1,953 kg and the potential yield is 3,269 kg/ha.
    • The berries have fairly high content of piperine (5.2%) and oleoresin (12.7%).
    Panniyur-4
    • There are a number of clones cultivated in Kerala under the name Kuthiravally. One such type maintained in germplasm at the Pepper Research Station, Panniyur, gave high yields. It was included in the replicated trials during 1975 to 1985 at this Centre. Besides high yields, this clone had been able to give comparatively good yields in unfavourable seasons.
    • This was released as Panniyur-4 in 1989. It comes to harvest later in the season than most other cultivars. This variety has long and curved bracts in some of the basal flowers (at fruiting age) in some spikes, which is a varietal character.
    • The yield per vine is 2.3 kg green pepper and the dry recovery is 34.7%. The variety can yield 1,277 kg dry pepper and the potential yield is 2,443 kg/ha. The berries contain 9.2% oleoresin.
    The varieties Panniyur 5, 6 and 7 have also been released and their characteristics are given below.

    Variety

    Pedigree

    Avg. yield (kg/ha)

    Poten- tial yield (kg/ha)

    1*

    2**

    Essential oil

    Panniyur 5

    Open polli- nated seed­ing of Peru­mkodi

    1098

    2587

    5.3

    12.3

    3.8

    Panniyur 6

    Clonal selection from
    Karimunda

    2127

    3354

    4.9

    8.3

    1.3

    Panniyur 7

    Selection from open pollinated Kaluvally

    1410

    2720

    5.6

    10.6

    1.5
    Note: 1* Piperine (%) 2** Oleoresin (%)
    Subhakara and Sreekara
    • These are high yielding varieties selected from Karimunda clones and released in 1990 from NRCS, Calicut.
    • The vines are slender and have characteristic dark green leaves and berries.
    • The number of spikes produced in a season far exceeds that in other cultivars. Unlike most other cultivars, these varieties produce off-season flowers.
    The important characteristics of these two cultivars are as follows.

    Flower types

    Fruit set
    (%)

    Green Berry
    yield/vine (kg)

    Dry recovery (%)

    Yield (Kg/ha)

    bisexual
    (%)

    Female
    (%)

    Male
    (%)

    Average

    Potential

    Piperine (%)

    Subhakara

    99

    0.5

    0.5

    68.0

    4.2

    35.5

    2352

    4487

    3.4

    Sreekara

    98

    1

    1

    63.4

    4.8

    35.0

    2677

    4200

    5.1

    Panchami
    • This variety was released in 1991 from NRCS, Calicut. This is a high yielding clone already in cultivation and locally known as Aimperian.
    • The percentage of bisexual, female and male flowers is 95.5, 4 and 0.5%, respectively.
    • The mean green berry yield per vine is 5.2 kg and the dry recovery is 34%.
    • The average yield is 2,928 kg of dry pepper and the potential yield is 6,528 kg/ha. The piperine content of the berries is 4.7%.
    Pournami
    • This variety was released in 1991 from NRCS, Calicut. It possesses tolerance to nematode and drought and has a potential for high yields.
    • It has been tested under the name Ottaplackal-1' (Co11.812). The spikes bear 84% bisexeral, 15% female and 1% male flowers.
    • The average green berry yield is 4.7 kg per vine and dry recovery is 39%.
    • The average dry and potential pepper yield per hectare is 2,333 and 5,356 kg, respectively.
    • The berries contain 44% piperin, 13.8% oleoresin and 3.4% essential oil.
    Plode 2
    • This is a clonal selection of Kottanad released from IISR, Calicut. The average dry berry yield is 2,475 kg/ha.
    • The berries contain 15.5% oleoresin, 3.3% piperine and 4.8% essential oil. This variety is suited to southern districts of Kerala.
    In addition to the above released varieties, several promising cultivars are in the pipeline for release from IISR, Calicut.

    Name

    Pedigree

    1

    2

    3

    4

    Remarks

    Coll No. 1041

    Clonal selection from Cv. Thevanmundi

    4.76

    7.3

    3.1

    2.0

    High tolerance to phytophthora foot-rot

    OPK m

    Open pollinated progeny from Karimunda

    3.4

    8.3

    3.0

    3.0

    Vigorous vine with long spikes and big bulk density

    HP-105

    Narayakodi X Neelamundi

    4.6

    7.2

    3.8

    2.0

    Hybrid –suitable for high attitudes

    HP-813

    Cholamudi X Panniyur-1

    3.52

    10.4

    5.4

    3.37

    Hybrid-good yielder, suitable for high altitudes

    HP-1411

    Aimpiryan X Panniyur-1

    3.65

    11.0

    3.8

    4.0

    Hybrid –Vigorous vine, good spiking. Compact spike and bold berries.

    Note:
    1. Average yield kg/vine (Fresh berry)
    2. Oleoresin
    3. Piperine
    4. Essential oil

Last modified: Friday, 9 March 2012, 6:41 AM