Intercropping Colocasia Taro with Black Pepper (Piper Nigrum) on Pohnpei

Abstract

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is an important cash crop on Pohnpei. Due to its perennial nature and slow growth, black pepper should lend itself to intercropping with annual crops, especially in the first few years of establishment, both in terms of ecology and cash income. There has been some concern that intercropping may increase disease in young pepper plantings. This paper reports on a six-month, on-farm trial of intercropping of black pepper with Colocasia taro.