Role of weather parameters and genotypes on flower composition of black pepper in India

Abstract

Global assessments elucidate the expected significant effect of climate change on future agriculture. In black pepper also, change in weather parameters plays an important role in its productivity. The present study attempts to make an assessment of the impact of genotypes and environment on sex form in black pepper. The observation on the flower composition of pepper varieties in different regions, revealed that there exists considerable extent of variability among genotypes and is highly influenced by the weather parameters. High percentage of bisexual flowers is essential for poUination and fruit set. For Panniyur-l, a popular variety, high altitudes and heavily shaded conditions cause the proportion of female flowers to be higher compared to hennaphrodite flowers. In contrast, the shift towards femaleness was not much pronounced in a few of the local cultivars such as Karimunda, Thevanmundi, ChumuIa and Neeiamundi under similar conditions. Light availability, temperature and rainfall are found to be the major factors influencing the flower composition which in turn determine the productivity. The shift towards femaleness and lack of pollination are one of the major r~asons for spike shedding among popular varieties such as Panniyur-l in high altitudes.