'AGALI BLACK PEPPER'- A UNIQUE ACCESSION WITH HIGH DRY RECOVERY AND AN IDEAL COMMODITY FOR GI REGISTRATION

Abstract

A unique black pepper accession with very high dry recovery and high bulk density coupled with round, firm, bold attractive black coloured corns, hitherto unreported in world black pepper gene pool, is collected,characterized and conserved. The berries are of good quality as indicated by the moderate levels of piperine, oleoresin and essential oil. This accession, relatively very tolerant to pests, located from a mixed farming plantation in Palakkad district of Kerala, India, fetches a premium price in the market is an ideal commodity for Geographical Indication(GI) registration as 'Agali black pepper' and holds promise as a novel source of gene(s) for increasing dry weight and bulk density in black pepper.