1.

The Universal Spice

1.1. Introduction

T he dried fruit of the plant, Piper nigrum L, generally known as pepper, is an

important tropical spice. Black pepper is obtained when mature green or
yellow berries of the pepper vine are harvested and dried. If the fruits are retted
and skin (pericarp) along with the underlying pulp is removed before drying,
white pepper is obtained. Both black and white pepper have a characteristic
pungency and distinct aroma that makes these products essential ingredients in
food from all parts of the world. Pepper finds a place on dining tables in all
countries and all types of cuisine.

Pepper has an important place in global trade in spices. Historically, it was the
first spice to be traded internationally and largely responsible for opening up trade
routes between the West and the East. Today, it is the most important spice traded,
in terms of quantity as well as value, and accounts for a significant portion of
world trade in spices.

There are many uses of pepper. It is a popular ingredient in different cuisines, in

the West as well as in Oriental cooking. With well-documented curative and
restorative powers, pepper is used in traditional medicines in many parts of the
world, as in Ayurvedic treatments in India and Jamu preparations in Indonesia. Oil
of pepper is a constituent in certain perfumes. In the past, Egyptians used it in the
embalming mixture and also as an air purifier. More recently, pepper has been
found to improve the bio-availability of specific medicines during treatment of
serious illness. Its insect repellent properties are also being exploited in agriculture
and household use.

Pepper has a chequered history. It is as old as human civilisation itself. The

Assyrians and Babylonians (3000BC-2000BC) traded in pepper obtained from the
Malabar Coast of India. The Vedas, the Bible and the Quran contain references to
pepper. Expeditions in search of pepper led to the discovery of new trade routes.
Wars have been fought and countries colonised to gain control over the supply of
pepper and other spices.

Among the 109 spices listed by the Geneva based International Standards
Organisation, pepper is the most significant. In some tropical countries, pepper
plays an important role in the economy of small farmers. These farmers plant,
nurture, harvest and sell pepper for their livelihood. The price of pepper, which
sometimes fluctuates violently and can fall to very low levels, all too often
destroys their hopes and aspirations

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1. The Universal Spice

1.2. Origin and Genetic Diversity

Piper nigrum L. originated in the dense evergreen forests of the Western Ghats of
South India. Wild pepper plants are plentiful in the less disturbed areas of this
forest and many varieties of the species nigrum can be found here. Other species
of the genus Piper can also be located where forests are moist and evergreen, as in
the North Eastern Region of India, in Java in Indonesia and other parts of South
East Asia. Through domestication and selection, many cultivated varieties have
been developed from wild plants.

The Indian Institute of Spice Research, Kozhikode (where Vasco da Gama landed
in search of pepper) in Kerala State, which is the chief research organization for
spices in India, has the largest collection of germplasm of Piper nigrum. Four
other research stations in the country, one again in Kerala State and the other three
in the States of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu also have good
collections of germplasm. In 1999, there were 2151 varieties of selections of Piper
nigrum at the Indian Institute of Spices research alone and 298 at other stations.

Pepper is believed to have been introduced into Indonesia and the Malay
Archipelago as early as the first century AD, during the period of the Hindu
kingdoms. There are records to show that Arab traders took pepper to Indonesia
from India in the 12th century AD. Pepper was first planted in the Banten district
in West Java and spread to the east to Batavia, Cirebon, Surakarta, Jepara and
Yogyakarta. In the north it is cultivated in Lampung, Banka Island and West
Kalimantan. There are 36 cultivars maintained and investigated at the Research
Institute for Spices and Medicinal Crops (BALITRO), in Bogor, Indonesia.

In Malaysia, pepper was first grown in the north of the Malay Peninsular as early
as the 1st century AD and later encouraged by the British in other parts of the
Peninsular. In the State of Sarawak, where most modern commercial production
takes place, pepper was first grown in 1858. While research and development of
commercial varieties continues to be an essential part of research on pepper in
most producing countries, genetic diversity is dependent on varieties introduced
for commercial cultivation in areas where wild pepper is not found.

1.3. Botany

Pepper is a perennial woody climber with aerial roots to stick on to supports. It

produces two main types of branches, either straight, upward growing,
monopodial, orthotropic branches or sympodial, laterally growing plagiotropic
fruiting branches. Shoots are produced during the rainy season from the base of
the plant, which strike roots on contact with soil. These shoots are called runners
and are extensively used in India for clonal propagation. At the nodes of the main
stem and branches aerial roots are produced, which act as normal roots on entering
soil. There is another type of branch called geotropic, which is a kind of water

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1. The Universal Spice

shoot hanging from the top of the plant. It is not productive and can not be used
for propagation.

Pepper is a dicotyledon and produces a taproot system if propagated through seed.

Commercial propagation is by stem cuttings and in such cases adventitious roots
are developed from the underground stem node and cut ends. Almost 85-90 % of
the feeder roots of a clonally propagated, four-year-old plant can be found
between 30-40 centimeters below the soil surface. Roots can penetrate deeper, up
to 4 m if necessary, in search of water.

Leaves are alternate, petiolate, simple, and dorsiventral, having prominent veins
with wide variations both in size and shape. In runner shoots and orthotropic
climbing shoots, young shoot tips are protected by the sheathing petiole of the
leaf. Stomata occur only on the lower side of the leaf.

Flowers are sessile, bracteate, small, unisexual or bisexual and closely packed to
form spikes. Most cultivars have dominantly female to purely bisexual flowers. A
high percent of bisexual flowers are necessary for good fruit set. Most cultivars
and improved varieties have 90 to 95% bisexual flowers. A few cultivars, which
have a low proportion of bisexual flowers, on the other hand are rich in female
flowers. Generally, in improved varieties, male flowers are negligible in number
or not present at all. Stamens are two in number, single carpal, with spherical
ovary, style absent and 3-5 lobed stigma.

Pollination is not through insects, wind or rainwater. Selfing (geitonogamy) is the

predominant way of fertilization in cultivated pepper. In certain cultivated
varieties, like Karimunda, where pollen grains are stuck together with glutinous
material, rainwater helps for dispersal.

The fruit of P. Nigrum is a drupe, but is often called a berry. It is spherical and has
only one seed with a fleshy pericarp and hard endocarp. The seed has an embryo
with prominent ridges and furrows. Embryos are not fully differentiated even
when ripe and differentiation happens only during the process of germination..
Fruits take 6-8 months from flowering to full maturity, the average being seven
months. Fruit ripening is not uniform and starts from the top of the spike. Fruit
size varies according to the variety.

Piper nigrum has the somatic chromosome number of 2n=52

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