Manuring and fertilzing black pepper

Manuring And Fertilizing Black Pepper & Things you should know

Preparation For Manuaring

There are many things we should care while proving a manure for black pepper plants like how to fertilize?, where to give manure? and what to give?

When Preventing and managing black pepper plants, the first thing to do is cleaning the plant area prepare a space to give the manure or fertilizer. This different when applying organic manure and applying fertilizer. For applying either one first thing you should do is cleaning the surrounding of the plant with a hoe. Clean the surrounding of the plant in a circular manner around the tree it is planted. The thing to remember is that, plants less than 3-5 years will have their roots nearby the place it is planted, while plants more than 5 years will have root surrounded as plants have grown bigger. So for 3-5 year old plants, give manure near the planted part, 25 – 40 cm from the stem planted.

When applying an organic manure like cow dung we need to give it in the surroundings or round the plant (After cleaning the surrounding with a hoe. Its organic and it will stay it it get naturally in taken by the plant. here we can apply the organic manure around the tree and after adding you may or may not cover the manure with the soil. Using apt support trees also takes an important role in preventing diseases.

While you apply Fertilizer like NPK mixtures always keep in mind that when the mixture is exposed to heat or sunlight there is chance for Nitrogen to get vaporized, so after putting fertilizer it should be covered with soil, so that nitrogen doesn’t get evaporated. Also keep in mind The thing to remember is that, plants less than 3-5 years will have their roots nearby the place it is planted, while plants more than 5 years will have root surrounded as plants have grown bigger. So for 3-5 year old plants, give manure near the planted part, 25 – 40 cm from the stem planted. So it is very important to have true knowledge about how to plant and care black pepper plants.

Dosage of Nutrients

Manuring and fertilizer application for pepper vines is to be done for proper establishment and growth of plants. Application of lime or dolomite @ 500 g/vine in April – May during alternate years is recommended under highly acid soil conditions.

Organic manures in the form of cattle manure or compost can be given @ 10 kg/vine during May. Neem cake @ 1 kg/vine can also be applied.

Recommended blanket nutrient dosage for black pepper vines (3 years and above) are as follows.

NPK 50: 50: 150 g/vine/year (General recommendation)

NPK 50: 50: 200 g/vine/year (for Panniyur and Kannur district in Kerala)

NPK 140: 55: 270 g/vine/year (for Kozhikode district in Kerala)

Soil test based fertilizer recommendations for dry yield target levels of 3 and 6 tons/ha

Soil test value for available nutrients (kg/ha)Fertilizer nutrient recommended (kg/ha) for yield targets
3.0 t/ha                                          6.0 t/ha
Nitrogen 
<150 
150 – 250
250 – 400
> 400

50                                                 100
25                                                    80
10                                                    55
–                                                       20
Phosphorus (P2O5
< 10 
10 – 30
30 – 50
> 50

40                                                     80
30                                                     70
10                                                     55
–                                                       30
Potassium K2O) 
< 110 
110 – 300
300 – 500
> 500

150                                                    310
125                                                     275
80                                                       250
35                                                      110

Only one – third of this dosage should be applied during the first year which is increased to two – thirds in the second year. The full dose is given from the third year onwards. As the soil fertility will be varying with the agro ecological conditions or management systems, site specific nutrient management for yielding gardens based on their soil test results for major nutrient is advocated. The recommended dose of nutrients for varying soil test values of N, P and K is given in Table 3. The fertilizers are to be applied in two split doses, one in May – June and the other in August – September and sufficient soil moisture must be ensured. The fertilizers are applied at a distance of about 30 cm all around the vine and covered with a thick layer of soil. Care should be taken to avoid direct contact of fertilizer s with roots of black pepper. When biofertilizer like Azospirillum is applied @ 50 g/vine, the recommended nitrogen dose may be reduced by half. In soils that are deficient in zinc or magnesium, foliar application of 0.25% zinc sulphate twice a year (May – June and September – October) and soil application of 200 g/vine magnesium sulphate, respectively is recommended. Foliar application of micronutrient mixture specific to black pepper is also recommended (dosage @ 5 g/L) twice, starting at flowering and followed at monthly interval for higher yield. The high yield varities include Panniyur 10, Panniyur 1 etc.


While black pepper boasts numerous culinary and potential health benefits, it faces various threats in the plant world. One major concern is foot rot/quick wilt disease, characterized by leaf yellowing, defoliation, and wilting. This fungal enemy spreads through rain and damages the stem and roots, often leading to vine collapse. Nematodes, tiny parasitic worms, also plague pepper plants, causing similar symptoms like root degeneration and reduced growth. Additionally, bacterial diseases like anthracnose can cause leaf spotting and fruit rot, impacting yield. Thankfully, research into resistant varieties, proper drainage, and organic pest management techniques offer hope for protecting these “kings of spice.” And the latest varitiey of Panniyur research centere called Panniyur 10 in Kerala has prooved to withstand diseases.

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