The prospects appear mixed for pepper growers in Udupi district. Though the price of black pepper has almost doubled in a year, some farmers expect a lower yield due to uneven rain this year, while the plantations of some others are recovering from the wilt disease.
Black pepper is grown as an inter-crop in arecanut, coconut and cashew plantations in the district. According to Guruprasad, Assistant Horticulture Officer, the land under black pepper cultivation had gone up from 267 hectares (ha) of land in 2008-09 to 383 ha in 2013-14 in the district. The total production of black pepper in the district is 148 metric tonnes. The yield per acre of black pepper is 0.39 tonnes per hectare.
As pepper is a climbing vine, the farmers grow them under the arecanut, coconut and other trees. Satyanarayana Udupa, a farmer in Hunsemakki village, has grown pepper vines on 600 arecanut, coconut and mango trees, in his field. Last year, he had got 80 kilograms of black pepper. “This year, I am getting at least 160 kg of black pepper. It is boom time as the prices of black pepper have almost doubled in a year. Last year, it was Rs. 400 to Rs. 450 per kg, this year it is Rs. 750 to Rs. 800 per kg,” he said. But the yield of some farmers got affected due to late and uneven rainfall in the district this year. Ramakrishna Sharma, a farmer, cultivates black pepper in six acres of land at Bantakal. “Last year I got 10 quintals of black pepper, but due to uneven rain this year, I might get about four quintals,” he said.
According to the agricultural scientists at the Zonal Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station (ZAHRS) in Brahmavar, the production of black pepper was affected by quick and slow wilt diseases last year.
“Last year, nearly 50 per cent of black pepper plantations in the district were affected due to wilt, but this year it has come down by half. The decline in production is also one of the reasons for the rates going up,” said B. Dhananjaya, Associate Professor, ZAHRS.
B.V. Poojary, who grows black pepper on 400 coconut and 100 arecanut trees in his field, said that he had lost nearly 90 per cent of pepper to wilt disease three years back. “But by giving proper medication to the pepper plants, I managed to get 100 kg of black pepper last year. This year, I am expecting more production,” he said.
