How to prune Pepper NARI TOKTOK KER012E. December 2003

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1 Recommended Price K 3.30 (incl. VAT) Copies of this toktok and further information can be obtained from: National Agricultural Research Institute How to prune Pepper National Agricultural Research Institute Wet Lowlands Islands Programme Lowlands Agricultural Experiment Station LAES Keravat Information Centre P.O. Box 204 Kokopo East New Britain Province Papua New Guinea Telephone: (675) / 9145 Facsimile: (675) outreach.k@global.net.pg narilli@global.net.pg NARI TOKTOK KER012E December

2 THE INSTITUTE The National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) was established by an Act of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea in July 1996 as a publicly funded, statutory research organisation, to conduct applied and development oriented research on food crops, alternative food and cash crops, livestock and resource management issues. Besides applied and adaptive research, NARI is responsible for providing authoritative technical, analytical and diagnostic services and up-to-date information to the entire agriculture sector in PNG. The major targets are the smallholder semi-commercial farmers in the country. The mission of NARI is to contribute, through applied research and technical services, to the development of the agriculture sector and realisation of the national goals by identifying, adapting and transferring agricultural technologies and information, so as to: Enhance the productivity, efficiency and sustainability of the smallholder agriculture, and Improve farmer income, food security and welfare of Papua New Guineans and the nation. This toktok was written by Tio Nevenimo, NARI Wet Lowlands Islands Programme in July The material presented is based on the best information available at the time of printing (December 2003). 2 11

3 How to prune Pepper Pepper is one of the introduced spice crops in PNG. It is important to know how this crop should be looked after in the field to get a good production of high quality pepper. It is also essential to know how to prune the newly planted pepper vines correctly from the beginning in order to develop strong and productive plants. A pepper vine consists of: - A main vine or stem, which attaches to the support tree by its aerial roots that grow from the leaf bases. - Creeping vines or stolons (runners) that do not attach to the support as they do not have aerial roots. The runners creep along the ground or within the pepper bush. - Lateral vines or fruit producing branches (side branches). These have no aerial roots and all fruits are produced on these branches. It is important to know that pepper fruits are only produced on the side branches. The side branches can grow from every leaf base on the main vine. However, not all vines will produce side branches at every node. This reduces the 10 3

4 number of productive branches on the vine and the amount of pepper produced. This toktok explains how you can increase pepper production by making multiple main vines that produce productive branches at every leaf base. Why to prune Pepper There are five reasons for pruning the pepper vines: 1. To make sure productive side branches develop at each leaf base on the main vine. The more side branches a pepper plant has, the more pepper is produced per plant. 2. To control vine growth, for ease of management and harvest. 3. To promote air circulation in the pepper bush to reduce disease problems. 4. To remove any unproductive stems that developed after the initial pruning. 5. To remove any weak or pest and disease affected parts of the plant. - Remove any diseased or dead parts of the plants as required. - Leaf pruning to encourage flowering. It should only be done to mature plants. Leaf pruning involves removing all the leaves except for the young leaves at the tip of each lateral branch; any existing flowers or spikes are also removed. Leaf pruning should be done soon after the main harvest. It should also coincide with a short dry period prior to the begining of the wet season which induces flowering. The more side branches you have on a pepper vine the more fruits will be produced on that vine, which means better yields and better return. 4 9

5 Each primary vine should have a side branch at every leaf base if the three-leaf base pruning is done properly as described before. The pruned main vine shoots can be used as planting material. Do not use side shoots and runners for planting material. At the end of the pruning (2 nd year), the plants will have a cone-shaped, thick and bushy appearance. The final shape of the bush at four to five years should be a nice oval shape. Maintenance Pruning Other pruning which may require constant attention is as follows: - Removal of main vines growing above 2 m height or grow from the side of the main vines, and at or near the ground level every two months. Creeping vines shoots should also be removed. - Any leaves or side branches in contact with the soil are pruned to allow better air circulation. - Flower spikes, which start to grow on the side branches during the first two years after planting should be removed. The removal of the flower spikes at this stage will encourage strong and healthy growth and a higher yield later. 8 Pruning of young Pepper Vines In order to encourage good side branch growth at every leaf base, the following pruning technique should be used. After planting, the vines will grow by attaching themselves to the support by means of their aerial rootlets. When the main vine has ten leaves, count three leaves up from the ground and cut the vine off between the 3 rd and the 4 th leaf. 5

6 After pruning new vine shoots will emerge from the three leaf bases left. Keep three strong and healthy shoots per plant to become the main vine and remove any other upright shoots. Allow the three leader shoots to grow along the support. When a stem is ten leaves high, prune it back to three leaves above the last pruning. Repeat this for all three shoots. Continue to prune back in this way on each of the three leader shoots until the shoots reach about two metre height. Clip the tips off at 2 m and maintain the vine s height by continuously clipping the new upright shoots. You have to make sure that a side branch develops on every node. If side branches do not grow, prune back to the leaf base above the side branches and continue the technique explained before. 6 7