Black Pepper

Water

Rain falls about 5 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 1,600 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 1,350 mm it can use in a normal year, and 900 mm in a dry year.

Temperature

Grows best at 22–35 °C on average, and survives 10–40 °C.

Here, in its growing months (day / night):

• Jun 30 °C / 23 °C
• Jul 29 °C / 23 °C
• Aug 30 °C / 23 °C
• Sep 30 °C / 24 °C
• Oct 31 °C / 24 °C
• Nov 31 °C / 24 °C
• Dec 32 °C / 23 °C
• Jan 33 °C / 23 °C
• Feb 34 °C / 24 °C
• Mar 35 °C / 25 °C
• Apr 34 °C / 26 °C
• May 33 °C / 25 °C
• Jun 30 °C / 23 °C

Soil

Soil for Black Pepper: 9 out of 10 (good).

Not in the score: nitrogen.

• The pH here suits it.
• Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.

Likes pH 6.0–7.0.

Money

Yield: about 1.6 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).

A new planting gives its first real harvest after about 3 years. The money here is for plants already bearing.

On rain alone it gets about 85% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 85% of this yield.

Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–March 2026): about ₹66,583 a quintal across mandis in your state.

This week: about ₹72,400 a quintal, the middle of 15 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹36,000 a year after typical costs.

Prices are usually best in November.

Typical costs are about ₹65,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.