Introduction. A study on postharvest treatments of wild peppers was carried out in Madagascar with the aim of describing the local practices and measuring their impacts on the quality of the products. Materials and methods. Four distinct pepper production systems (PPS) were observed, described and compared in two separate areas in East Madagascar. Major quality characteristics (piperine and essential oil) of the peppercorns were assessed in samples collected in the four systems. Results and discussion. Two main postharvest processes (dry and wet) were identified. The wet process differed from the dry one in that it involved two specific operations, blanching and sweating. The processes influenced the color of the pepper. Piperine contents were not affected by any of the pepper production systems, whereas essential oil contents were reduced by up to 27% by the wet process. After processing, piperine contents were up to eight times lower, whereas essential oil contents were up to six times higher than the specifications of the standard ISO 959-1 for black pepper ready for commercialization. Conclusion. Two main processes (dry and wet) for treatment of peppercorns in Madagascar were identified and described. The dry process, with two steps less, appeared to be easier to implement and more respectful to the product. Improving maturity control and processing according to the quality expected by the markets will be necessary to promote Malagasy peppers.

Introduction. Black pepper (P. nigrum L.), the major world spice, is a climbing vine of historical, religious and economic importance. Landraces or farmer’s cultivars constitute the major component of this tropical vine's diversity. Normal spike formation. Berries of P. nigrum are produced in solitary, unbranched, axillary spikes. The apical bud of the plagiotropic branches transforms into an inflorescence (spike). Spike variant. Mutation in the floral meristem of black pepper could result in inflorescence proliferation. A variant with 100% of proliferating spikes was collected from a farmer’s plot, and then propagated by cuttings. The proliferating spikes are of indeterminate growth habit. Benefits. This natural mutant of Piper nigrum resulted in improved socioeconomic status of the farmer through sale of the rooted cuttings at a premium price. The variant can also be used as a donor for improvement of black pepper, besides as a novelty in potted pepper culture. Since berries of varying maturity are produced due to indeterminate growth, and since immature berries are rich in oleoresin, a single harvest will be yielding matured berries, which can be traded as black pepper of commerce, and half-matured berries suited to the value-added industry. Discussion. Mutations in the floral organ identity genes and their effect on altered flower/inflorescence development have been reported in the literature. In the case of spike proliferation, the transformation of the floral primordia in the mutant spike into inflorescence primordia has resulted in the modified spike architecture.