Role of Major Weather Parameters in the Production of Black Pepper in Kerala

Aim: The present study intends to analyse the influence of weather parameters on the production of black pepper in six major pepper producing districts of Kerala, the Indian state which contributes a considerable share to national spice exports. Methodology: This research is based on secondary data which is limited to six major black pepper producing districts of Kerala which were chosen based on their contribution to total production of the state 2020. More than 50% of the production was from Idukki district followed by Wayanad (8%), and around 3 to 3.5% from Kannur, Kasargod, Kottayam and Kollam districts respectively. Annual precipitation, Relative humidity, Maximum and Minimum temperatures were the parameters taken into consideration along with production data of over 15 years (2005-2019) which was then subjected to regression analysis using panel data. Results: According to the results, significant reduction in production by 2.52% and 1.88% was recorded for unit increase maximum (P= 0.047) and minimum temperature (P=0.03) respectively. Likewise, unit rise in relative humidity and rainfall was responsible for decrease In production by 1.1%, and 0.07% respectively though they were reported to be insignificant. Conclusion: From the present study, it could be concluded that maximum and minimum temperatures were found to be significant in affecting the production of black pepper. However the negative regression coefficients obtained for other factors like rainfall and relative humidity implied its negative effect on production. In order to combat these variations, there is therefore, the need to create awareness to farmers in India on the need to adopt best farming practices in order to improve yield of this important crop.