Journal of Geoscience and Eco Agricultural Studies

Abstract

The Capsicum genus is native to tropical Central and South America and comprises 27 species, though only five of these are domesticated viz., Capsicum annuum, Capsicum chinense, Capsicum pubescens, Capsicum frutescens and Capsicum baccatum. Among these, Capsicum annuum with its diversity of market types of pungent and non-pungent fruits is the most widely cultivated worldwide. Capsicum fruits are grown mainly for use as a fresh vegetable (hot and sweet peppers), for drying as spice (paprika, chilli powder), for extraction of food coloring and flavoring, and extraction of other compounds for medicinal or industrial uses. The present investigation was carried out using six genotypes of chilli (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) to evaluate the genotypes for yield and capsaicin content to suit the industrial purpose. The study was conducted at the College orchard, Department of Vegetable Science, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. The experiment was conducted in a Randomized Block Design with three replications. The genotypes included CC-CBE-001, CC-CBE-002, CC-CBE-003, CC-CBE-004, CC-CBE-005 and CC-CBE-006. Observations on biometric, yield and quality parameters viz., Plant height (cm), number of branches per plant, days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering, number of fruits per plant, mean green fruit weight (g), mean dry fruit weight (g), single fruit weight (g), fruit length (cm), fruit girth (cm), fresh fruit yield/plant (g), dry fruit yield/plant (g), capsaicin content (SHU), capsanthin content (ASTA colour value) and oleoresin content (%) were recorded. Among the genotypes evaluated, CC-CBE-003 was the earliest to flower (27.5) and the days to 50% flowering were 32.75. The highest plant height (171.67cm) and the number of branches per plant (5.47) were recorded in the genotype CC-CBE-003. Similarly the maximum number of fruits per plant (262.20) and the highest fresh fruit yield per plant (620.37 g) was recorded in CC-CBE-003. The highest capsaicin content (170264 SHUs) was found in the genotype CC-CBE-003. The capsaicin content of commercially cultivated Capsicum annum ranges between 15,000 and 20,000SHU. Since the capsaicin content recorded in the present study is high, it can be concluded that the genotype CC-CBE-003 with highest capsaicin content and oleoresin content can be recommended for industrial exploitation.