Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Peppergrowers in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai are developing pepperplants from Sri Lanka, instead of local varieties, however some agriculturalexperts are wary of its development potential.

Despite the low market price of pepperearly this week, farmers in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai werestill taking risks on the strange variety from Sri Lanka, with buying prices of105,000-115,000 VND per kg, three times higher than Vinh Linh pepper (namedafter a popular pepper seed originating in Vinh Linh district). Vinh Linhpepper has been thriving in Gia Lai.

Faced with falling pepper prices andworsening weather in recent years, many pepper growers in Gia Lai province havefallen into serious debt. Some were forced to destroy their pepper plants togrow other fruit trees and make a living.

Some local households, on the other hand,believed in the future of pepper, and decided to grow Sri Lankan pepper plants,instead of the local type.

According to Nguyen Tran Quyen, deputy headof Gia Lai province’s Centre for Pepper Research and Development, the pepperoriginated in Sri Lanka, and was planted in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos."It can tolerate drought and has yields three times higher than localplants. In addition, Sri Lankan pepper is also very resistant to pests,"he told Viet Nam News. "My initial research shows it is much like India’sPanniyur pepper."

The Sri Lanka pepper was first grown in GiaLai three years ago, by a local man who brought pepper seeds fromCambodia. 

"It was confirmed by a Sri Lankanagricultural expert at a recent seminar, when I brought some pepper samples tohim, that this variety is similar to that commonly grown in Sri Lanka,” Quyensaid.

Nguyen Van Long, 60, living in Dien Phu commune,Pleiku city, one of the households that has turned to Sri Lanka pepper in thearea, said some villagers working in Cambodia found this pepper highlyproductive and resistant to pests and diseases so they brought it back to growin their native land.

“At first, I tried to plant 100 Sri Lankapepper plants, then I realised that it grew fast and had good resistance todisease, so this quickly developed to 1,000 new plants,” said Long.

According to Long, the Sri Lankan pepperwas similar in price to the Vinh Linh pepper of Vietnam. It was also as easy togrow and pick.

However, the Sri Lanka pepper growsquickly, with the appearance of large leaves and long pods (from 18 to 20cm),so plants need to be fertilised a lot to ensure good growth.

The special feature of Sri Lanka pepper wasits productivity. If the best-growing Vietnamese pepper could yield 5-7kg ofgrain per tree, Sri Lankan pepper offers 17-18 kg of grain per tree.

Currently, Dien Phu commune has a dozenhouseholds that are growing this Sri Lanka pepper, at an average of 100 to 200trees each.

At present, Long’s pepper garden is growingwell. “I initially tested the plants and didn’t take much care of them, butthey developed naturally.”

“When the peppers grow well, the largeleaves and sprouts are twice as big as sprouts of local pepper. So, I decidedto develop 1,000 new pepper plants that are expected to be highly effective.”

Nguyen Duc Trong, chairman of Chu Se PepperCo-operative, was very considerate about the decision taken by local peppergrowers, saying farmers have been advised not to expand production as the SriLanka pepper was rather new and its quality and production haven’t beenconfirmed by competent agencies.

Quyen said the centre has experimented withthis pepper tree. The centre also took samples to analyse and evaluate thecontent of Piperine (the alkaloid responsible for the pungency of blackpepper).

Quyen’s centre, in coordination with alocal pepper export-import company, has studied Sri Lanka pepper samples,discovering that the piperine content of this pepper was just 3.5 percent,against the standard content for export at 4 percent.

"We are afraid that if we multiply theSri Lanka pepper plants widely, it may cause farmers to become disillusionedwith pepper again. We will get some samples of this pepper for further analysisand evaluation, while now we are recommending that farmers do not plant itwidely,” said Quyen.

"We are waiting for the first harvestnext February. And we plan to hybridise this pepper with Vinh Linhpepper."   

In Gia Lai, there are about 10ha of SriLanka pepper by far. - VNA