Coffee and Pepper and grown in partial shades of Silver Oaks or other trees in the Plantations. One of the early and native crops of India is Black pepper and it would date back to early 1900 in our farms in Waynad and Tamil Nadu. Pepper plants are climbers which grow to a height or length of 10 m or more. When its main stem is established, it grows lots of side shoots to create a bushy column.

The plant requires a long rainy season, fairly high temperatures, and partial shade for best growth. Black pepper is grown in coffee plantations and as mono crops on slopes and in valleys

Black Pepper Processing:

• Fruiting spikes are harvested when fruits are fully grown but still green and shiny.
• Fruit spikes are left in heaps overnight for fermentation.
• The next morning, the mass of spikes are usually spread out to dry in the sun for about a week.
• They are raked regularly to help them dry out.