Effect of Different Irrigation Levels on Yield Attributes of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.)

The growth of black pepper cultivations in Sri Lanka has been restricted to the Wet Zone of Sri Lanka due to lack of sufficient soil water in the Dry Zone as well as in certain parts of the Intermediate Zone. Therefore, identification of optimum irrigation level to get a higher yield of black pepper is vital as such information is limited. A pot experiment was conducted under protected environmental conditions to determine the effect of different irrigation levels on yield attributes of black pepper. Weekly irrigation was administered to three-year-old MB-12 vines at three different levels (8, 4, and 2 L vine^-1 week-1; 8 L vine^-1 week^-1 represents near field capacity) with 3 replicates each. The experiment design was Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Black pepper vines provided with an irrigation level of 8 L vine^-1 week^-1, recorded significantly higher (P<0.05) mean values for yield attributes such as dry weight of berries of 10 spikes (40.5 g), spike length (11.76 cm), number of spikes per vine (81), number of berries per spike (87.4), and spike filling percentage (88.9%). In conclusion, irrigation level near field capacity (8 L vine^-1) is preferable to get a greater yield from black pepper. Further studies are suggested at the field level before making a solid recommendation.