Black Pepper

Water

Rain falls about 7 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 1,150 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 830 mm it can use in a normal year, and 680 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 27 °C / 17 °C (outside its best range)
• Jul 25 °C / 17 °C (outside its best range)
• Aug 24 °C / 17 °C (outside its best range)
• Sep 23 °C / 15 °C (outside its best range)
• Oct 21 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
• Nov 17 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 14 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 11 °C / 2 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 14 °C / 4 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 18 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Apr 23 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
• May 26 °C / 15 °C (outside its best range)
• Jun 27 °C / 17 °C (outside its best range)

Nights in November can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.

Soil

Soil for Black Pepper: 8 out of 10 (good).

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

Likes pH 6.0–7.0.

Money

Yield: about 1.9 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

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 72% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 72% of this yield.

Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–March 2026): about ₹65,872 a quintal across India's mandis.

This week: about ₹68,511 a quintal, the middle of 33 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹31,000 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.