Piper methysticum

Propagation

Germination

Piper methysticum is a sterile cultivar of Piper wichmannii and does not produce seeds.[1]

Vegetative

Methysticum stems of two or three nodes are typically direct sown in dirt mounds for cultivation.[2]

In-Vitro

Methysticum is host to a wide array of endophytic microorganisms that make axenic tissue culture very difficult. The majority of explants are lost to bacterial/fungal overgrowth.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

The usual ethanol/hypochlorite, heat, and mercuric chloride sterilization protocols using nodal stem explants were lost to contamination or plant death. Neither was successive sterilization procedures or antibiotic-laced media successful. Attempts to transfer away from the contaminants by the resterilization of new shoots were not successful because methysticum would not generate new shoots fast enough. Often contamination does not show for 3-5 weeks.[3]

Callus culture established from nodal or leaf sections is possible. The use of the biocide/fungicide Plant Preservative Mixture was considered critical to axenic culture production.[4]

Cultivation

Methysticum is frequently grown as an understory plant during the maturation stage (1-3 years). Papaya, coconut, yam, taro, banana, cassava, and cocoa plants are often used as shade. Direct sunlight can damage the upper leaves.[9]

Harvest

The harvest process includes soil loosening, digging, washing, separating, peeling, cutting, and drying. These crucial steps ensure a clean product free of contaminants and minimize toxic compounds.[2]

Methysticum are typically harvested after three years when they have reached sufficient size and concentration of active principles. Plants can remain in the field to attain a larger size.[2]

Yield

The mean yield for outdoor cultivation on small farms in the Pacific islands is ~2.4 tonnes per hectare at a density of ~1600 plants per hectare.[9]

Four to six kilograms of green are required to produce 1 kg of dry kava depending on the plant’s age and part used.[2]

Soilless

Soil

Fertilization

A liquid compost tea made from coconut coir waste, livestock urine, bran, rice washing water, coconut water, brown sugar, and banana waste was fermented for 14 days before being applied to young methysticum plants. The final tea (1.81:2.98:3.28; N:P:K) increased the number of leaves and height of those plants, with the best results seen at the highest dosing used.[10]

Temperature

Lighting

Pests

The cucumber mosaic virus can kill entire plantations and is a serious problem for growers. Overt rot symptoms of CMV are usually preceded by mosaic leaf symptoms by 3-4 weeks.[9]

Certain ‘virus-like’ leaf symptoms precede the stem rot. These include mosaic symptoms (a pattern of yellow, angular areas against a background of green tissue) together with one or more of the following puckering along larger veins, crinkling and blistering of leaves (Fig. 13b). Small areas of internal necrosis associated with vascular tissue (Fig. 13c) often occur inside stems showing these ‘virus-like’ leaf symptoms, but no other external symptoms of infection are apparent at this stage… The disease is characterised by a black rot of stems which eventually disintegrate.[9]

CMV is likely spread by aphids. Contact between any of the several hundred species affected by CMV and methysticum via aphids will likely limit any systematic elimination of the disease. Intercropping with other plant species that are resistant to CMV, but attractive to aphids might be a practical method for reducing the spread of the disease.[9]

The only effective method of control is prevention and culling diseased plants.[2]

The kava weevil borer (Elytroteinus subtruncatus) can cause serious damage to methysticum. The more common but less deadly mites, aphids, mealy bugs, scale insects, army worms, and giant African land snails are pests of methysticum.[9]

Nematodes, bacteria, and fungi are associated with minor disease symptoms but not with any major or consistent loss of productivity, especially in healthy plants.[9]

Leaving the land fallow a minimum of 3 years between plantings can help reduce pest infestations and to replenish nutrients.[2]

Morphology

Methysticum is decaploid (10x=130).[1]

Roots

Stem

Leaves

Inflorescence

Methysticum does produce flowers but fruiting individuals have never been recorded.[1]

Wichmannii does produce seeds in some areas and that is one of the distinguishing features of the species.[1]

Seeds

Phytochemistry

Traditionally, cultivars are distinguished by gross morphology or physiological effects of the final product.[9]

Substantial variation in the kavalactone and flavokawain compounds exists between cultivars of methysticum. Total kavalactone content, a common benchmark for commercial products, is not sufficient to describe the overall effects.[11]

The noble cultivars have a chemical composition suitable for daily drinking and should be the only ones used for consumption. The use of water extracts only further decreases the risks. The kava industry is unstructured and largely unregulated at present. What little regulation is in place is difficult to enforce.[10]

Roots (average 45.2 mg/g DW) present higher kavalactone content than aerial plant parts (average 9.22 mg/g DW) and also had a different chemotaxonomic profile. Hawaiian cultivars contained more kavalactones than those from Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands.[11]

Contrary to common wisdom, methysticum age is not correlated with kavalactone content after about 18 months.[12]

Infraspecific Variation

Biosynthesis

Distribution

Timecourse

Improvement

Identification

Inheritance

Methods

History & Society

Work Log

29 Jun 2023

New growth has started from the base of the bato hydro system plant.

04 Jun 2023

Moving the outdoor plant from peat-based potting mix to the bato bucket system. I rinsed the root ball thoroughly to really get a good look.

13 May 2023

Move the fabric pot methysticum outdoors for the summer.

28 Dec 2022

The kratky methysticum isn’t look so good.

I decided to extricate it from the netcut and move it to a 1:1 coir:perlite mix.

In contrast, the other methysticum is doing ok under the kratom-dapled grow lights.

21 Apr 2023

My dog really want to look out the window while I’m gone. So much so that he will sit on top of skewers placed in my methysticum pot specifically put in to keep him off.

Maybe I just need more skewers…

28 Sep 2022

The outdoor methysticum in the large fabric pot is growing well under the shade of a kratom tree.

15 Jul 2022

The outdoor methysticum has taken to the soilless mix well.

06 Jun 2022

Moved one of the methysticum plants to a peat-based potting mix in a fabric pot outdoors.

02 Apr 2022

Received two “ISA” cuttings in the mail today. They look reasonably healthy.

The plants were immediately rinsed under running water for several minutes. They are now sitting in the grow closet with bottom watering under ~5,000 lux illumination. I am spraying them with water every few hours to keep the humidity up.

23 Mar 2022

Ordered live plant from Etsy. Seller is waiting until warmer weather to ship.

Bibliography

1. Lebot, V., Survey of the Genetic Resources of Piper Methysticum Forst. f. in Oceania, undefined, 1989. url: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Survey-of-the-genetic-resources-of-Piper-Forst.-f.-Lebot/12ae128c46de34c578badf0638c29e51856fecd6. Abstract
   Detailed objectives included an assessment of the rela­ tive contributions of genetic and environmental factors in the biosynthesis of kavalactones and an analysis of morphological and chemical variation in P. methysticum and related taxa. Introduction Kava, made from Piper methysticum Forst. f., is the traditional beverage of the Pacific Islands. P. methys­ ticum is the only Piper species from which several flavones and chalcones have been identified (Sengupta and Ray, 1987). Experimental studies have shown that active principles of the plant, the kavalactones, have several physiological properties (Hansel, 1968) which are presently used in the western pharmaceutical in­ dustry (Lebot and Cabalion, 1986). In order to study this underexploited crop with promising economic potential, it was decided to review the taxonomy, to conduct a survey covering its area of distribution and to collect, conserve and evaluate the germplasm. Specific objectives included an assessment of the rela­ tive contributions of genetic and environmental factors in the biosynthesis of kavalactones and an analysis of morphological and chemical variation in P. methysticum and related taxa. Islands covered in this survey were: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Wallis and
2. Prasad, Avin Ashitesh, Kava (Piper Methysticum)-An Important Source of Income for the Rural Farmers in Fiji Islands, Advances in Crop Science and Technology, vol. 06, no. 01, 2018. doi: 10.4172/2329-8863.1000325. Abstract
   Kava (Piper methysticum) production is decreasing very rapidly on a yearly basis. Kava is the traditional ceremonial drink and one of the major sources of income for the farmers in Fiji Islands. Kava farming is practiced by many Fijians in the highlands of Fiji. Fiji is a tropical country, prompt to cyclones and adverse weather conditions, these adverse weather conditions has continuously contributed towards decreasing kava production in the country and other Pacific Islands. There are 12 cultivars of kava distributed across the Pacific Island and Fiji itself acquires 12\% of the total cultivars, besides Vanuatu which acquire 82\% of the cultivars. Kava takes minimum of 3 years to attain its full maturity and in that 3 years plants go through various kinds of survival pressure and apart from weather conditions, Kava farmers face crop management issues such as Kava pests and diseases.
3. Taylor, {\relax Dr}. M. and Taufa, L., Decontamination of Kava (Piper Methysticum) for in Vitro Propagation, Acta Horticulturae, no. 461, pp. 267--274, August 1998. doi: 10.17660/ActaHortic.1998.461.29. Abstract
   The major constraint to kava (Piper methysticum) tissue culture is endogenous contaminants. Despite stringent surface sterilisation procedures, decontamination has been unsuccessful in the past. In view of this problem, which prevents the establishment of kava in vitro, different approaches to decontamination have been investigated. The first approach involved growing kava plants in a glasshouse and applying 8-hydroquinoline with various concentrations of BAP to induce new shoots. Once new shoots had been initiated the plants were sprayed weekly with a solution containing a fungicide (Benlate) and an antibiotic (rifampicin). It was thought that the combination of chemicals would alleviate the problems of endogenous contaminants. However, the use of explants from treated plants and new shoots were both unsuccessful. The second approach involved the use of antibiotics in sterilization procedures and the incorporation of antibiotics in culture medium. Various fungi, bacteria, and yeast contaminants were identified and were tested against a range of antibiotics that were added to the culture medium. There were always a few cultures that remained clean for 3 – 5 weeks and when contaminants started to appear, an attempt to rescue these cultures by resterilizing and transferring to new medium failed due to phytotoxicity effects. The use of explants from the treated plants is preferred as they showed a limited degree of contamination and delayed the appearance of contaminants. The decontamination strategies suggested are based on the results of these decontamination procedure investigations and the knowledge of the phytotoxicity effects of the disinfectants and antibiotics on kava.
4. Briskin, D.P. and Kobayashi, H. and Mehta, A. and Gawienowski, M.C. and Ainsworth, L. and Smith, M.A.L., Production of Kavapyrones by Kava (Piper Methysticum) Tissue Cultures, Plant Cell Reports, vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 556--561, September 2001. doi: 10.1007/s002990100356. Abstract
   Kava (Piper methysticum) is extensively used for the generation of a ceremonial intoxicating beverage in South Pacific Island cultures and for the production of a sedating phytomedicine worldwide. Callus cultures were successfully initiated from shoot explants of Kava cvs. Makea and Awke and from leaf explants of cv. Awke. Bacterial and fungal contamination were decreased by multiple steps of tissue sterilization and the inclusion of a biocide in the medium. The production of kavapyrones by the Kava callus cultures was measured relative to the levels of these chemicals generated by intact plant tissues. The results showed that total kavapyrone production in callus cultures was less than 1\% of that observed for root tissue from which the phytomedicine and intoxicating beverage is typically produced. Although callus cultures were initiated from stem and leaf explant materials, the corresponding callus cultures yielded a relative pattern of kavapyrone production similar to that of root extracts, with kavain and methysticin present as the predominate kavapyrones. This differed from stem tissues and the reported values for leaf tissues, where dihydrokavain and dihydromethsticin represent the predominant kavapyrones.
5. Kunisaki, J. and Araki, A. and Sagawa, Y., Micropropagation of ‘Awa (Kava, Piper Methysticum), undefined, 2003. url: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Micropropagation-of-%E2%80%98Awa-(Kava%2C-Piper-methysticum)-Kunisaki-Araki/fe96d0b230dab52579119f2c86df314029de311f. Abstract
   Micropropagation of ‘Awa (Kava, Piper methysticum) Micropropagating of ’Awa is described in detail in the second part of this book. Published by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Andrew G. Hashimoto, Director/Dean, Cooperative Extension Service/CTAHR, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822. An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Institution providing programs and services to the people of Hawaii without regard to race, sex, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, arrest and court record, sexual orientation, or veteran status. CTAHR publications can be found on the Web site \<http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu\> or ordered by calling 808-956-7046 or sending e-mail to ctahrpub@hawaii.edu. Micropropagation of ‘Awa (Kava, Piper methysticum)
6. Li, Mingfang and Zheng, Xueqin, Establishment of Regeneration System In Vitro for Piper Methysticum, Agricultural Biotechnology, vol. 1, no. 5, pp. 18--19, October 2012. url: https://www.proquest.com/openview/543f1d8b9a4ef3bd914287b008092465/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1596359. Abstract
   Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.
7. Prasad, Raghani and Tyagi, Anand P. and Taylor, Mary, Regeneration and Establishment of Whole Plants from Kava (Piper Methysticum Forster) Meristems in Tissue Culture, The South Pacific Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 39, 2008. doi: 10.1071/SP08006. Abstract
   In the present study the regeneration and establishment of whole plants free from pathogenic contaminants from kava (Piper methysticum Forster) using meristems tissue culture has been established. Four treatments for initiating kava in tissue culture were evaluated for their efficiency in eliminating contaminants and optimizing recovery and growth. One of the treatments, using shoot-tip meristems resulted in 84\% decontamination with 72\% recovery and another, using nodal bud meristems, resulted in 80\% decontamination rate with only 20\% recovery. Shoot tips were found to be the ideal explants for kava tissue culture. The minimum time taken for rooting was one month on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 100 mgL-1 myo-inositol, 0.04 mgL-1 BAP, 0.02 mgL-1 NAA, 0.05 mgL-1 GA, 1.0 mgL-1 thiamine and 20 gL-1 sucrose.
8. Zhang, Z. and Zhao, L. and Chen, X. and Zheng, X., Successful Micropropagation Protocol of Piper Methysticum, Biologia plantarum, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 110--112, March 2008. doi: 10.1007/s10535-008-0020-9. Abstract
   An efficient in vitro propagation of kava (Piper methysticum) was established. Utilizing 15-d-old tender shoots from dormant auxiliary buds as explants, significant induction of vigorous aseptic cluster shoots was achieved in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 0.5 mg dm-3 6-benzyladenine (BA), 0.5 mg dm-3 indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and antibiotics after 30 d. In vitro rooting was achieved at 100 \% efficiency in MS medium containing 0.75 to 1.00 mg dm-3 IAA or indole-3-butyric acid and 3 \% sucrose. The most robust and long roots were observed in medium with IBA. Moreover, the embryonic callus was induced from petioles in MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg dm-3 BA and 0.1 mg dm-3 IAA, of which 70 \% differentiated into shoots in the presence of 1.0 mg dm-3 BA and 0.5 mg dm-3 IAA.
9. Davis, R I and Brown, J F, Kava (Piper Methysticum) in the South Pacific:, no. 46, pp. 29, March 1999. Abstract
   This report discusses kava myths and ceremonies, the relative importance of kava as a cash crop, the kava plant and its cultivation, and the diseases and pests commonly found in kava gardens. It also describes the main kava cultivars grown in Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and Samoa, reports the results of field trials on the effects of shading on kava growth and yield, and compares the growth patterns and yields of 10 different kava cultivars in Vanuatu.
10. Wahida, Wahida and Susanti, D. S., Applications of Liquid Organic Fertilizer From Agricultural Waste in Wati Plants (Piper Methysticum Forst)., Musamus AE Featuring Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 23--27, October 2018. doi: 10.35724/MAEF-J.V1I1.1611. Abstract
    Custom reflects the personality and soul of a society or nation, is hereditary and contains belief values \hspace{0pt}\hspace{0pt}in it. The Wati plant (Piper methysticum Forst) is one of the parts or tools used in a Marind tribal in Merauke Regency. As part of custom, it is necessary to develop so that the custom can be maintained. Therefore, most to find simple propagation and cultivation techniques of Wati plants and later can be applied to the community. This study aim to analyze the utilization of agricultural waste into liquid fertilizer which is applied to wati plants. The metode of study with randomized block design (RBD) with five treatments, is P0 (2 l of water) as a control, P1 (10 mL), P2 (20 mL), P3 (30 mL), and P4 (40 mL). Each treatment was repeated as many as five times, so that 25 experimental units. The parameters observed were the content of N, K, and P2O5, from agricultural waste, stem diameter, number of leaves and stem length. The results showed that the N and P2O5 contents were low, whereas K had met the minimum technical requirements for POC. The results of the POC application showed that the best growth of wati plant seeds for plant height and number of leaves with a dose of 40 mL/L water.
11. Segone, Ramoagi T. and Tankeu, Sidonie Y. and Chen, Weiyang and Combrinck, Sandra and Schmidt, Mathias and Viljoen, Alvaro, Rapid Differentiation of Piper Methysticum (Kava) Plant Parts Using Single Point and Imaging Vibrational Spectroscopy, Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, vol. 16, pp. 100235, March 2020. doi: 10.1016/j.jarmap.2019.100235. Abstract
    Piper methysticum Forst., commonly referred to as kava, has been used medicinally and recreationally by inhabitants of the South Pacific Islands for centuries. Kavalactones present in roots and aerial parts are regarded as the bioactive compounds responsible for the relaxant effects, and for mitigating anxiety and stress-related conditions. The development of pharmaceutical products containing root extracts led to a boom in kava sales in Europe in 1998. However, reported cases of toxicity led to the subsequent banning of kava products in several countries. This study was initiated to develop rapid, robust and alternative spectroscopic methods for quality control that can be implemented at the point of export, to authenticate the use of kava roots as legislated by the Vanuatu Amended Kava Act no. 6 (2015). Roots, peeled stems, and stump peelings samples (n\,=\,47) were sourced from Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Tonga. The sample extracts were analysed using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to a photodiode array detector and mass spectrometer (UHPLC-PDA/MS), while powdered material was analysed using spectroscopic techniques. These included single-point (near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy), as well as an imaging (hyperspectral imaging). Principal component analysis of both the raw UPLC-MS and the quantitative UPLC-PDA data revealed chemical differences between the root and non-root samples. Kavain, methysticin and yangonin were identified as the compounds largely responsible for the chemical differences between the plant parts. Discriminant analysis models (OPLS-DA and PLS-DA) were developed for all the techniques, to reliably discriminate kava roots from non-roots. All the discriminant models indicated a good prediction ability (Q2XCum ≥ 60 \%) and were successfully used to accurately identify external roots and non-root samples. However, hyperspectral imaging yielded superior results, with a prediction ability above 90 \%. This technique can be automated and is capable of continuously scanning multiple samples, making it ideal for quality control.
12. Lebot, Vincent and McKenna, Dennis J. and Johnston, Ed and Zheng, Qun Yi and McKern, Doug, Morphological, Phytochemical, and Genetic Variation in Hawaiian Cultivars of ’Awa (Kava,Piper Methysticum, Piperaceae), Economic Botany, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 407--418, October 1999. doi: 10.1007/BF02866720. Abstract
    Standardized morphological descriptions, quantitative phytochemical analyses (HPLC) of major kavalactones and DNA fingerprinting (AFLP) were utilized to define the extent of variation existing between Hawaiian cultivars of Piper methysticum. For each cultivar, morphotypes and chemotypes were compared to their respective genotypes. Overall, 63 samples were analyzed for their kavalactone content and composition (44 root samples, 6 stump, 5 basal stem, 7 leaves and 1 peelings). Results obtained from different cultivars planted in an homogeneous environment (soil and climate) are quite variable for the kavalactone content of their roots. Total kavalactone content decreases when shade increases over the plants. Total kavalactone content markedly increases with fertility, irrigation and in a cultivated type of habitat. However, kavalactone content appears to be independent of the age of the plant. For all cultivars analyzed, total kavalactone content decreases from the roots to the stump; the basal stems and the leaves exhibit the lower concentration. It is also observed that there is a correlation between the total kavalactone content and the size of the roots: smaller roots tend to have a higher kavalactone content. Peelings of the bark had a higher kavalactone content than the stump and represent a very interesting by-product for the extraction industry. Chemotypes are similar in the roots and the stump, while they differ in the aerial parts where the concentrations in dihydrokavain and dihydromethysticin increase. DNA samples were extracted from fresh leaves collected on 22 accessions. Most accessions, representing all Hawaiian morphotypes were monomorphs for the 21 pairs of primers assayed. Kava in Hawai’i is a species with an extremely narrow genetic base. Morphological and phytochemical variation is obviously controlled by very few genes. Most cultivars representing different morphotypes are most likely somatic mutants from a common clonal source introduced by Polynesians during early settlements.