Title:
“Survivality and Performance of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) in 5 different number of nodes per stem
cutting”
Objectives:
General objectives:
1. Determine the survivability of black pepper cuttings among the different number of nodes per
stem cutting
Specific Objectives:
1. Measure the number plant height
2. Measure the number of leaves
3. Measure the number of nodes
4. Measure the length of internodes
5. Measure the Root Length
6. Measure the
Chapter 1- Introduction
Chapter 2-Methodology
General Activities Specific Activities
Procurement of Materials Selecting a vigorous and prolific mother plant as source of
Needed planting materials.
Polyethylene (PE) Bags, Garden Soil, Carbonized Rice Hull,
Decomposed Manure, Black Pepper Cuttings, Shade Net
Construction of a black pepper Bamboo + Black Shade Net
nursery 10 m x 10 m
Soil Media Preparation Weighing the soil media components (Garden Soil,
Decomposed Chicken Manure, Carbonized Rice Hull ) 1:1:1
ratio
Bagging Filling the PE bags (10 in.x12 in) with the prepared soil media
Preparation of black pepper Cutting the black pepper in 10 different no of nodes per
cuttings cutting (3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
Planting Planting the cuttings in a slant position 4- 5 inches below the
medium in each bag.
Each growing PE bag received 1 cutting
Maintenance The samples are watered 1-3 times per day daily sprinkler
Regular weeding is also performed to avoid competition
Data Gathering Recording the Temperature and Relative humidity
Measuring the Plant height, Number of leaves, Number of
Nodes, Length of Internode, Diameter of stem,
Data Analysis The Data Collected are analysed using analysis of variance
(ANOVA), and Statistical Tool for Agricultural Research
(STAR)
Finalization
Table 1.
Gantt Chart
Month 1 Month 2 Month 3
Activities W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4
Procurement X X
of Materials
Soil Media
preparation X
Bagging X
Planting X
Maintenance X X X X X X X X
Data X X X X X X X
Gathering
Data X X
Analysis
Finalization X X
Chapter 3-Review of Related literature
1. Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is one of the most valuable spices consumed throughout the due
to the presence of alkaloid piperine in its fruits.
2. The total commercial production of pepper in the world has been increasing at an estimated
range of 510,184–690,467 Metric tons (MT) annually (FAOSTAT 2019).
3. Vietnam with 102,570–151,761 MT year−1 predominates the market as the largest producer
and exporter of pepper in the year 2018, Vietnam produced 30% of the world production 262
658 MT.
4. It is used as an ingredient for imparting agreeable flavour and as a preservative in food and
drinks (Luxita et al. 2018), production of essential oil and in the pharmaceutical and perfumery
industries (Parthasarthy and Zachariah 2008; Gorgani et al. 2017).
5. Pepper is a woody perennial climbing plant with numerous cultivars varying in yield, branching
pattern, size, stem structure and orientation of the various parts (Hussain et al. 2017b).
6. The plants exhibit a dimorphic branching pattern consisting of orthotropic and plagiotropic
branches. Orthotropic branches have short, thick internodes with several adventitious roots at
the nodes helping the plant to climb over the supports.
7. Plagiotropic branches have no aerial roots but produce a spike from the terminal bud as they
grow. Further growth of the branches is continued by axillary buds. As the axillary buds develop,
they expose the developing spike and become opposite to the leaves (Parthasarathy et al. 2007;
Krishnamurthy et al. 2010).
8. In presence of adequate soil moisture, runner shoots with aerial root initials at the nodes are
produced from the base. These shoots trail on the ground but climb up when in contact with
vertical supports. The inflorescence is a catkin (spike) produced at the nodes opposite to the
leaves. Its flower is sessile, bracteate, achlamydeous and uni/bisexual. Cultivated pepper has
more percentage of bisexual flowers compared to wild species. Berry set highly depends upon
the prevailing weather conditions of the growth season. Continued droughts, heavy or irregular
rains can reduce pollination, affects the crop physiology, and also leads to failure of berry set
(Ravindran et al. 2000; Srinivasan et al. 2012; Krishnamurthy et al. 2016).
9. Pepper types grown in the Morogoro district of Tanzania are widely known by local names such
as Babu kubwa (Komoro), Babu ndogo (Kikong’oro), Babu kati (Ya zamani), and Ismailia (Bwana
shamba) (Shango et al. 2020). The pepper types are believed to have originated from other
places and introduced by either Missionary or Arab traders through route of domestication
some years ago. However, very little is known about their morphological characterization, yield
in comparison to the globally known commercial cultivars, information on pedigree of pepper
types grown in the district are missing and confirmation of genetic relatedness is yet needed.
The pepper types have been arbitrarily given names by farmers in Swahili and Luguru tribe
vernacular based on components like the striking morphological features and source of planting
materials (Shango et al. 2020). Similar naming of pepper types/cultivars by farmers has also
been reported in other producing areas around the world including India (Mathew et al. 2005,
2006).
10. Observation and recording of morphological characters/descriptors has been a typical approach
for identification and description of various pepper germplasms (Hussain et al. 2017b; Bermawie
et al. 2019; Prayoga et al. 2020). Other methods include pedigree, agronomic performance,
biochemical and molecular/DNA-based data (Mohammadi and Prasanna 2003; Raghavan et al.
2010; Deka et al. 2016). Phenotypic descriptors of a plant species that determine similarity and
diversity between and within crop accessions are the bases for Morphological assessment.
Phenotypic descriptors are plant traits which can be analyzed during different developmental
stages of the crop and may appropriate used in distinguishing crop accessions (Meilawati et al.
2020; Prayoga et al. 2020). Local, native and wild pepper can be source of genetic diversity
through germplasm collection, hence understanding their morphological characteristics can
assist in the analysis of genetic diversity and can provide valuable information on germplasm
resources for crop improvement (Mathew et al. 2006; Prayoga et al. 2020). The aim of this study
was to generate preliminary information on morphological characteristics of pepper types
grown in Morogoro district, Tanzania compared to globally well-known commercial varieties.
11. Serpentine method
12. Cheaper propagation technique for production of rooted cuttings of black pepper is serpentine
layering. In a nursery shed with roofing sheet or shade net, rooted black pepper cuttings are
planted in polythene bags holding about 500 g potting mixture, which will serve as mother
plants. As the plant grows and produces few nodes small polythene bags (20 x 10 cm) filled with
potting mixture may be kept under each node. The node may be kept gently pressed in to the
mixture assuring contact with the potting mixture with the help of a flexible twig such as mid rib
of a coconut leaflet to enable rooting at that junction. Roots start growing from the nodes and
the cuttings keep on growing further. The process of keeping potting mixture filled polythene
bags at every node to induce rooting at each node is repeated. In three months the first 10 to 12
nodes (from the mother plants) would have rooted profusely and will be ready for harvest. Each
node with the polythene bag is cut just below the rooted node and the cut end is also buried
into the mixture to induce more roots. Polythene bags filled with solarized potting mixture or
soil, granite powder and farmyard manure in 2:1:1 proportion is recommended for producing
disease free rooted cuttings. The rooted nodes will produce new sprouts in a week time and will
be ready for field planting in two-three months time. Daily irrigation can be given with a rose
can. On an average, 60 cuttings can be harvested per mother plant in a year by this method.
13.