Black Pepper variety · Released variety
Panniyur-5
Pepper Research Station, Panniyur, Kerala · Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) · 1996
Shade tolerant; high oleoresin content; regular bearing with balanced yields.
Key facts
| Type | Released variety |
|---|---|
| Origin | Pepper Research Station, Panniyur, Kerala |
| Breeder / source | Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) |
| Year released | 1996 |
| Parentage | Open pollinated progeny of Perumkodi |
| Yield | 2248 kg dry pepper/ha (potential); oleoresin 12.3% |
| Tolerance | Shade |
| Distinctive features | High oleoresin; vigorous |
| Grown in | All pepper-growing areas of Kerala |
Figures are indicative, compiled from public agricultural sources (ICAR institutes, State Agricultural Universities, the Spices Board and the National Innovation Foundation) and vary with soil, season and management. Confirm with your local package of practices.
Panniyur-5 in detail
Panniyur-5 is a shade-tolerant black pepper from Kerala that holds its crop year-on-year, with high oleoresin content and good vigour on intercrop supports.
Origin & story
Panniyur-5 was released in 1996 from Kerala Agricultural University's Pepper Research Station at Panniyur. The station was started in 1952 to improve pepper cultivation and was brought under KAU in 1972. The variety was developed as an open-pollinated selection from Perumkodi. It is the fifth of the station's Panniyur releases, alongside Panniyur-1 through Panniyur-4.
How it grows
Panniyur-5 tolerates shaded conditions and is suited to all pepper-growing tracts, which makes it usable as an intercrop on supports such as arecanut and coconut. Average yield is around 1,098 kg/ha of dried pepper, with a potential yield of 2,248 kg/ha under good management. The variety is regular bearing, maintaining consistent production year to year rather than cropping in alternate-year cycles.
Quality & character
Purple shoot tips and long spikes are the main identifying markers. The variety is noted for high oleoresin content and high piperine content. Vines are vigorous with bold berries.
Why it matters to buyers
The high oleoresin and piperine content makes Panniyur-5 useful for both fresh and extracted spice markets. Its regular bearing habit helps give steadier season-to-season supply than varieties prone to alternate-year cropping. The shade tolerance lets growers fit it into established arecanut and coconut plantings common across Kerala and the Western Ghats.
About black pepper
India's pepper tapestry splits into two worlds—old landraces born from the Western Ghats soil and careful farmer selection over generations, and modern releases from KAU Panniyur and ICAR-IISR that blend tradition with yield ambition. The ancient cultivars like Karimunda, Kottanadan, and Narayakodi remain the anchor, each rooted in its own stretch of humid…
Live market rate
Today's black pepper price
See the latest black pepper rate, daily range and recent trend from verified mandi & auction sources.
Other black pepper varieties
From the Western Ghats
Buy clean, graded black pepper from AroWest
AroWest is the spice & aromatics label of Western Crest Ventures LLP — hand-cleaned, sorted, sealed and traceable harvests from Idukki and the wider Western Ghats. Registered LLP · Udyam (MSME) · FSSAI · GST.