Karimunda

Karimunda is the most widely grown traditional black-pepper cultivar in Kerala. It is moderately shade-tolerant, adapts across a wide range of sites, carries small-to-medium berries, and gives a dependable if not spectacular yield. It is the default homegarden and mixed-plantation pepper in much of the state, and is also the parent of several ICAR-IISR clonal selections (Sreekara, Subhakara).

Plant typeTraditional pepper cultivar (rooted cuttings)
MaturityPerennial — first bearing in year 3, full bearing by year 7–8, productive for 20–30 years
Yield potentialMedium, dependable
Disease resistanceModerate; no special resistance
SoilWell-drained forest loam / laterite, humus-rich, acidic pH 4.5–6.0
SeasonAll seasons

• Sowing timePlant with the first monsoon showers, roughly May–June
• Seed rateNot a seed crop — 2–3 rooted cuttings per standard; one vine per homegarden tree or about 3 × 3 m standards in a garden
• SpacingOne vine per existing tree in a homegarden; about 3 × 3 m standards in a dedicated garden
• Sowing methodPlant 2–3 rooted cuttings on the northern side of the standard, mulch, and tie in every flush
• IrrigationWater young vines through their first dry seasons; mostly rainfed thereafter in the traditional homegarden system, with summer irrigation where available
• Fertilizer5–10 kg farmyard manure per vine each year with a thick pre-monsoon mulch, plus an adult NPK dose of about 50:50:150 g per vine per year where fertiliser is used
• HarvestingHand-pick spikes in several rounds from November to February for black pepper; the small-to-medium berry dries to a good, dense black pepper

Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.

• Kerala
• Karnataka

• Panniyur-1

  The first improved pepper variety in India — a hybrid (Uthirankotta × Cheriyakaniakadan) released in 1971 by KAU Pepper Research Station, Panniyur. High yielding and bold-berried but best in the open, and susceptible to heavy shade and drought.

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• Panniyur-5

  An open-pollinated selection from Perumkodi released by KAU Panniyur, notably shade-tolerant — bred for growing as an intercrop under a coffee, arecanut or tree canopy, where Panniyur-1 struggles.

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• Panniyur-2

  An open-pollinated selection from Balancotta by KAU Panniyur, shade-tolerant and suited to intensive management as a mixed crop, with stable yield across sites.

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• Panniyur-6

  A later KAU Panniyur release with good yield and quality and moderate tolerance to shade; grown alongside the other Panniyur selections in Kerala.

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• Sreekara

  A clonal selection from Karimunda released by ICAR-IISR, Kozhikode, with higher yield and good dry-recovery and quality; one of the standard IISR recommendations for new planting, usually paired with Subhakara.

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• Subhakara

  A Karimunda clonal selection from ICAR-IISR, similar in habit to Sreekara, high-yielding with good berry size; the two are usually recommended together for new planting.

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• Panchami

  An ICAR-IISR selection from the Aimpiriyan cultivar, high-yielding and late-maturing with good spike length; suited to the plains and midlands.

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• Pournami

  An ICAR-IISR selection noted for tolerance to the root-knot nematode, which is part of the slow-decline complex — a useful choice where slow decline has been a problem.

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• IISR Thevam

  An ICAR-IISR selection from the Thevanmundi cultivar, adapted to the high ranges of Idukki and Wayanad, with good yield and quality at higher elevation.

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