It is essential to have a pole in order to cultivate black pepper (piper nigrum linn.). The aim of this study was to examine the effect of pole types and mineral fertilizer rate on the growth in the first year of cultivation. A field experiment was carried out in Mueang District, Chanthaburi Province. The experimental design was a 3 x 4 factorial in Ramdomized Complete Block Design with 3 replications. The first factor was type of pole i.e. concrete pole, wooden pole and coral tree (Erythrina fusca Lour.). The second factor was rates of mineral fertilizer i.e. 24-24-34, 48-48-68, 72-72-102 and 96-96-136 g N-P2O5-K2O /pole/year. Soil chemical properties were analyzed prior to the experiment. The bush width, height, number of branches, internode length, leaf width and number of climbing roots per pole were collected at 6 and 12 month after planting (MAP), whereas the adhesive strength of the black pepper’s climbing roots was tested at 12 MAP.
