ABSTRACT
Black pepper is mostly grown in the South Western region of India, comprising of the states of Kerala, parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Goa, the entire region once known as Malabar (Barber, 1905). Currently, pepper is grown in about 26 countries globally. The major portion of black pepper production in the country is accounted for by Kerala and Karnataka. In the country, Kerala accounts for 75 per cent of the total production. Fusarium species can be soil-borne, airborne, carried in plant residue and can be recovered from any part of the plant from the end of deepest roots up until the top of the flower. Colletotrichum symptoms on black pepper can be figured out once all of the whole berries at the spike turn black and fall. The symptoms of fruits depend on the stage of maturity. ELISA tests indicated that the disease is caused by the cucumber mosaic virus.
