ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute has placed the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on India’s agri-innovation map by registering the germplasm of woody pepper, locally called choi jhaal, with the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in New Delhi. The new entry, catalogued as INGR 25029, locks in national recognition for a plant long known informally to islanders but never before identified in the country’s botanical records. For farmers across the archipelago, the registration is more than a scientific footnote; it is a gateway to organised cultivation, formal seed distribution, and a potential niche export built around a spice that commands premium pricing for its bioactive compounds.
Researchers first drew attention to woody pepper after field surveys revealed scattered stands in forested tracts and home gardens. Chemical profiling at CIARI laboratories confirmed the presence of piperine, valued for enhancing the bioavailability of herbal medicines, and a suite of antioxidants. Subsequent DNA bar-coding cracked the taxonomic puzzle, proving the plant to be Piper pendulispicum, a species previously reported only from Vietnam and Thailand. That discovery elevated the stakes: a wild relative of black pepper, entirely new to Indian flora, was hiding in plain sight on the islands and offering novel market prospects to smallholders starved of high-margin crops.
With identity established, scientists shifted to agronomy. Trials at CIARI’s Bathu Basti campus standardised serpentine layering for rapid propagation, refined shade-net protocols for the delicately aromatic stems, and developed post-harvest techniques that stretch shelf life well beyond the few days offered by sun-drying. Extension officers then pushed the package to village clusters, demonstrating that woody pepper can slot between coconut, areca and fruit trees without demanding large land parcels. Early adopters found that the crop’s semi-woody stems fetch higher prices per kilo than traditional pepper berries because processors value the concentrated piperine.
The NBPGR listing now cements a framework for orderly expansion. Registration grants formal conservation status, enabling national repositories to store duplicates and safeguarding against genetic erosion if wild stands are lost to land-use change. It also clears the way for varietal development. Plant breeders can access the germplasm under standard agreements to select traits for higher piperine content, disease tolerance or faster regrowth. Any release that follows will credit the Andaman accession, ensuring benefit-sharing and geographic branding rights for island growers.
CIARI management frames the milestone as a triple win: scientific validation, biodiversity conservation and livelihood creation. Nationally, the germplasm tag underscores the role of island ecosystems in enriching India’s plant diversity portfolio. Each such listing nudges policymakers to factor fragile yet resource-rich territories into agri-innovation budgets, whether through dedicated spice parks, specialty GI tagging, or transport subsidies for niche commodities. By securing official recognition for woody pepper, CIARI has effectively unlocked those future possibilities while giving island farmers a product uniquely their own.
As the first consignments of certified cuttings move out of research plots and into homestead gardens, the Andamans’ newest cash crop is set to transition from curiosity to commercial reality. If adoption keeps pace with current demand, the archipelago could soon be known not just for beaches and betel but for a pepper that grows on wood, carries the chemistry of a nutraceutical and bears a registration code that began its journey in the forests of Elephant Point.
