Pepper vines grow on rubber

KOTTAYAM: Rubber trees which do not give much returns to the growers now due to the fall in the prices of rubber have, however, come in handy for a farmer to grow pepper  vines.   Manoj Mathew, 40, an accountant-turned rubber farmer at Elampally near Pallikathodu, experimented by cultivating pepper vines in his one-and-a-half acres of land where he also grew rubber.

Mr Mathew harvested 100 kg of pepper last year.  At first he put the pepper vines on 110 rubber trees and later on 140 trees which have three years of   growth. The vines do not impede the growth of the rubber trees and tapping can be done without affecting the pepper vines, he said. “Those belonging to  nearby areas have also evinced interest to replicate my experiment,” Mr Mathew told this newspaper.

Manure can be put for rubber and the pepper vine at the same time.  There will be yield within 4-5 months.   Rubber Board sources said it was a  novel initiative. “It could be effective in the initial years. However, it can  be recommended only after detailed study,” Ms Elizabeth Cherian, board field officer at Pallikathodu told this newspaper.