Black pepper takes about 7-8 months after flowering to reach full maturity. The harvest time can be identified when one or two berries turn yellow or red.

It is important to harvest pepper at the proper stage of maturity in order to achieve a dried product of good colour and appearance. If the berries are allowed to over ripe, there is heavy loss due to berry drop and damage by birds.

The spikes are nipped of by hand and collected in bags. Normally, single pole bamboo ladder is used as a support for harvesting.

Harvested spikes are generally collected in clean gunny bags. Spikes which are fallen on to the ground may be collected separately, cleaned and then pooled to the general lot.

The harvested berries are piled up in a heap to initiate browning. Then berries are detached from the stalk by threshing.

The berries are spread on suitable drying floor. During sun-drying, berries are raked to ensure uniform drying and to avoid mould development. Drying the berries for 3-5 days reduces the moisture content to 10-12 per cent.

Blanching the berries in boiling water for one minute prior to sun drying accelerates browning process as well as the rate of drying.

It also gives a uniform lustrous black colour to the finished product and prevents mouldiness of berries. Prolonged blanching should be avoided since it can deactivate the enzymes responsible for browning process.

The dried berries are cleaned, graded and packed in double lined gunny bags.