~ 977 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2018; 7(2): 977-978 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2018; 7(2): 977-978 Received: 26-01-2018 Accepted: 28-02-2018 Sarthak Bhattacharya Research Scholar, Department of Plantation, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic Crops, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India Santanu Layek Research Scholar, Department of Vegetable Science, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India Apurba Bandyopadhyay Professor, Department of Plantation, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic Crops, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India Correspondence Sarthak Bhattacharya Research Scholar, Department of Plantation, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic Crops, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India Bush pepper: A new generation urban spice crop Sarthak Bhattacharya, Santanu Layek and Apurba Bandyopadhyay Abstract Black pepper is an important spice crop of India. Black pepper is also known as Kurumulaku in Malayalam and Kalimirch in Hindi. Black pepper is having great socio-economic importance as well. India is known to have a highest area of black pepper all over the world. India was a dominant producer, supplier and consumer of black pepper in the world context. But in the last few decades there are some newly emerging countries which is the major competitor in global context. At present the productivity in India is very low due to non-adoption of good agricultural practices. Unlike most other spices, bush pepper is not a space consuming crop. Besides being planted in pots, it can also be intercropped with coconut or mango crops. Most importantly, unlike black pepper vines, bush pepper gives berries all year round. Keywords: black pepper, bush pepper, GAP, productivity Introduction Why bush pepper Spices are an indispensable part of Indian food habit. Besides adding taste, it also adds to several health benefits. Black pepper is regarded as “King of Spices” and “Black Gold” (Parthasarathy et al., 2008). [1] Black pepper is having great socio-economic importance as well. India is known to have a highest area of black pepper all over the world. India was a dominant producer, supplier and consumer of black pepper in the world context. But in the last few decades there are some newly emerging countries which is the major competitor in global context. The productivity of black pepper in India is being challenged by countries like Malaysia and it is ascribed basically to improper management practices (Hamza and Sadanandan, 2005). [2] It is the largest foreign exchange earner among spices and the average quantity exported from India accounts for more than 70 percent of the total production. The demand for black pepper and its products is increasing year by year in the world market but the production is not up to the level. At present the productivity in India is very low due to non-adoption of good agricultural practices (Thangaselvabal et al., 2008) [3] . In 2016-17, India produces 57000 tons of Black pepper from 131230 ha area with a productivity of 3.66t/ha. (Spices Board India, 2016-17). There is also a massive decline in the production area of black pepper. Need of the hour Today is the era of rapid urbanization and modernization. Area under cultivation is decreasing in a rapid rate. Cities are entirely dependent on outskirt supplies of consumable products. Black pepper is a very costly spice crop. If can be grown in home and domestically processed, it can not only save a part of family income but can also help the surplus production to be exported in foreign countries. Considering all the above facts it can be considered that if black pepper can be grown in homestead conditions, it can easily serve the domestic requirement. The black pepper produced commercially can then be exported to earn havoc revenues. The technology Black pepper vines are usually cultivated by allowing them to climb on either living (on trees) or non-living (RCC posts, granite pillars, teak poles etc.) supports. Black pepper vines while climbing on these supports put forth fruiting branches called laterals which produce flowers and fruits. The normal way of producing planting material of black pepper is to use rooted cuttings (single or 3 nodded) of runner shoots or climbing shoots. This ensures that the plant turn into vine after climbing on a support and produce fruiting branches (Plagiotropes) all around the support. But when the laterals are used as planting material, the resultant plants grow like a “Bush”. These plants produce numerous laterals throughout the year, unlike vines. One-year-old healthy fruiting branches are selected with 3 to 5 nodes and all the leaves except the flag leaf are removed and planted in a shade area in the nursery,