Agromorphological and Technological Characterization of Two Type of Pepper (Piper nigrum) in Côte d’Ivoire

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is one of the most consumed spices in the world. This study aims to characterise pepper varieties installed in collections. Four (4) Lampong clones (C1, C2, C3 and C4) and two (2) Muntok clones (C1 and C3) from the CNRA (National Agronomic Research Center) pepper collections in Divo and Azaguié, were characterised agromorphologically and technologically. The data collected covered 19 qualitative traits and ten (10) quantitative traits such as mature leaf color, ripe fruit color, ear filling, lateral branch behavior, ear length, number of grains per ear, fresh/dry grain diameter, grain weight, water content and density. In general, the Muntok were characterised by short spikes with an average of 58.98 berries/spike, large berries with 6.48 mm and 4.53 mm in diameter, respectively for fresh and dry grains, a dark green color at maturity and compact. As for the Lampong, they were characterised by long spikes with 10.79 cm, small light green berries at maturity and scattered or moderately scattered on the spike. These results, although preliminary, constitute a working basis for the genetic improvement of pepper in Côte d'Ivoire.