Pepper Research Station, Panniyur, started in 1952 as part of a scheme to improve pepper cultivation, was uplifted to the status of a research station under the KAU in 1972. The station concentrates on crop improvement, crop management and crop protection aspects of black pepper . It is an important co-ordinating centre of the All India Co-ordinated Re-search Project on Spices of the ICAR. Besides research, nucleus planting materials of released varieties of black pepper, viz. Panniyur 1, Panniyur 2, Panniyur 3, Panniyur 4 and Panniyur 5 are also been distributed.