Bush pepper can be grown in pots and they don’t need support trees to climb on. Having 5 pots of baby pepper will give enough pepper for a household’s requirements. This is ideal for flat dwellers and residents with limited open land. Growing black pepper requires more work and farming expenses as it needs support trees. If taken care properly, bush peppers will begin to flower in a year. It will produce peppercorns throughout the year. Gathering peppercorns from vines spread on high branches of tress is a difficult task. But harvesting is easier in bush peppers. It is easier to carry them around when moving houses also.
Bush peppers can be produced from any healthy high yielding black pepper vine. The branches that grow from the main stem are selected for growing bush peppers. The best of branches are a year old with buds. Combine mud, soil and cow dung powderon 1:1:1 ratio with neem oil cake. Fill this mixture in a polythene bag, 25x10 cms long. The ideal time for bush pepper to take root is from September to January. The parts to be grown must should be plucked in the evenings along with at least three leaves. Then, keep them dipped in copper oxychloride solution of 0.2 percent potency for 20 minutes. Dip them in keradix solution that helps in root growth, and plant them in groups of 3 or 4 in a polythene bag readied earlier. If there are more than 3 plastic bags, they may be transferred to a plastic shed, otherwise, they may be covered individually with plastic covers. Water daily. In two months the roots grow strong. Once the roots are firm, they may be transferred to pots in a month.
They must be replanted to a mixture of at least ten kgs of mud and fertilizers. Make a mixture of mud, cow dung powder, or some other organic fertilizer in 1:1:1 proportion. Adding neem oil cakes, coir pith, bone powder, rajphos, and potash are also good. Having this mixture 20 gms per pot will ensure strong growth of firm roots.
Spray solution fortnightly to fight off fungal infections. Mixture of garlic and neem oil will keep away aphids and other mites. Also, spray Bordeaux mixture of 1pc potency so that it won’t wilt. Give shade during summer. Mulching will reduce the amount of water needed.
Bush peppers can be grafted in thippili also. If taken care properly, half to one kg will be the yield from a single pot.
