Production System and Technology Adoption Profile of Black Pepper Cultivation in Kerala

Abstract

Within India, Kerala is the spice garden. However, the pepper cultivation
system in Kerala is now handicapped by a number of problems. The yield of
this crop has declined mainly due to senile plantations and minimum input
use, on account of declining market price and declining profit margin. The
present study was undertaken covering three districts of Kerala through a
sample survey to study the features of the production system and track major
shifts, study the technology adoption profile of the farmers and identify major
constraints as perceived by the farmers. Around 38 per cent of the farmers
adopted organic production system and technology adoption profile showed a
less input intensive approach. Even though 60 per cent of farmers practiced
rain fed cultivation, 15 per cent fully irrigated and 25 per cent adopted
irrigation partially. Majority of the farmers were holding land between 80
cents to 4.5 acres. Around 40 per cent of the total vine population was in
the pre-bearing stage. There is slow and gradual increase in adoption rate of
improved varieties and majority of the farmers sourced new planting material
from own fields, showing less dependence on public and private nurseries. The
major field problems reported by the farmers are pre-bearing loss of the vines,
and many biotic problems like pest and disease incidence and environmental
problems like shifts in climate especially rainfall.