Black Pepper

Water

Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.

Needs about 1,850 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 510 mm it can use in a normal year, and 320 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 34 °C / 24 °C
• Jul 33 °C / 24 °C
• Aug 33 °C / 24 °C
• Sep 33 °C / 23 °C
• Oct 32 °C / 23 °C
• Nov 30 °C / 22 °C
• Dec 30 °C / 20 °C
• Jan 32 °C / 20 °C
• Feb 34 °C / 21 °C
• Mar 37 °C / 23 °C
• Apr 37 °C / 25 °C
• May 37 °C / 25 °C
• Jun 34 °C / 24 °C

Soil

Soil for Black Pepper: 7 out of 10 (okay).

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

Likes pH 6.0–7.0.

Money

Yield: about 0.8 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.

Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.

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).

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.