Chilli and Capsicum

 

Ø  Botanical name:

ü  Sweet pepper: Capsicum annum

ü  Bird pepper, tobacco pepper or chilli: Capsicum frutescens.

Ø  Family: Solanaceae

Ø  Origin: Mexico

ü  Primary center of diversity: Mexico

ü  Secondary center of diversity: Guatemala

Ø  Chromosome number:2n=2x=24

Ø  Chilli and capsicum both belong to same family as well as same spp that is Capsicum annum.

Ø  Fruit type: multi seeded berry

Ø  Inflorescence: Raceme

Ø  Anthesis: 5-6 am, dehiscence: 8-11 am.

Ø  Stigma is receptive before 24 hours of anthesis (i.e., protogyny).

Ø  Two types of capsicum species are found:

1.     C annum: annual, fruit borne singly.

2.     C. frutescens: perennial (but cultivated as annual), fruits borne in groups.

Ø  Capsicum annum and Capsicum fruitescence have ‘white flower’ while C. pubescence have purple flowers.

Ø  Blue anthers are found in C. annum and C chinense

Ø  Rugose seed and purple flower are found in C. pubescence.

Ø  C. chinense: used as bridge species for C annum and C frutescence, because these two are not crossable with each other while C. chinense is crossable with these two species.

Ø  Paprikas or sweet papper are mostly European cultivar with large mild fruits of Capsicum annum L.

Ø  Spanish paprikas are lack in pungency, while Hungarian paprikas have long pointed fruits and are mostly pungent.

Ø  Paprika variety i.e., Arka Abir is suitable for colour extraction.

Ø  Chilli and capsicum have bidirectional root system.

Ø  Chilli is richest source of vitamin C.

Ø  Green to dry chilli ratio is 10:1.

Ø  India is the leading exporter of chilli.

Ø  Vitamin C content of the fruit is increased by heating.

Ø  Often cross-pollinated crop (16% cross pollination)

Ø  Chilli is cultivated for vegetables, spices and pickles.

Ø  Green fruits are good source of vitamin A and C.

Ø  Capsicum bears bell shaped, non-pungent, mild and thick fleshed fruits.

Ø  Mid hills of the Himachal Pradesh are the leading suppliers of capsicum during off-season.

Ø  Chilli is rich in vitamin A (870 IU/100g) and C (321 mg/100g) than tomato.

Ø  Red ripe fruits have more vitamin C than mature green fruits.

Ø  Green chillies are rich in vitamin P (rutin), used for pharmaceutical use.

Ø  Pungency: capsaicin (crystalline volatile alkaloid)- C18H27NO3

ü  Medium pungent: 0.20-0.55 mg/100g

ü  Highly pungent: >0.55 mg/100g

Ø  Pericarp is rich source of capsaicin.

Ø  Precursor of capsaicin is Vanillylamine and isocarpic acid.

Ø  SHU = Scoville Heat Unit: A measure of Spiciness

Ø  Highest pungent chilli in the world is Carolina reaper (2,200,000 SHU) followed by Trinidad Moruga Scorpion (2,009,231 SHU).

Ø  The Bhoot Jholokia (Highest capsaicin content in India) also known as ghost chili pepper, ghost chili and ghost jolokia, is an interspecific hybrid (Capsicum chinense x Capsicum frutescens) chili pepper cultivated in the Northeast Indian states and closely related to the Naga chilli of Nagaland and Bangladesh.

Ø  Chloroacetophenon: used for riot control.

Ø  Red color: capsanthin (C18H27NO3)

Ø  In fruit, capsanthin accounted for about 36% of the total carotenoid content.

Ø  Vitamin C content order: Flesh > placenta > seeds.

Ø  Vitamin C content of the fruit is increased by heating while reduced by indoor cultivation, close spacing and more irrigation.

Ø  Red ripe fruits contain higher vitamin C than mature green fruit.

Ø  In food and beverages industries, chilli is used in the form of oleoresin which permits better distribution of color and flavor in the food.

Ø  Varieties of Chilli

The varieties of chilli suited for different purposes are as follows:

(i)       Varieties suitable for green chilli production: Pusa Jwala, NP 46A, Jawahar 218, X-235.

(ii)     Varieties suited for salad purpose: Co-2, Andhra Jyoti (G-5).

(iii)    Varieties suitable for export as dry chillies: Punjab Lal, Pant C-1, Co-1, Co-2, Muslabadi, Jawahar 218, Kiran, G-3, G-4, G-5.

(iv)    Varieties suitable for coloring matter: Punjab Lal, LCA 206.

(v)      Varieties suitable for the extraction of capsaicin: Punjab Lal, Aparna, Kalyanpur Yellow.

(vi)    Varieties suitable for the preparation of sauce, essence and oleoresin. Pant C-1, Punjab Lal, X-235, Muslabadi.

§  Samba type: Pusa Jwala, CO-1, G-4, NP-46-A.

§  Gundu type: CO-2, G-5 (Andhra Jyoti)

§  Jwalamukhi: suitable for HDP, low pungency content and resistant to virus.

§  Bhaskar: yellow anther type (used as marker trait), resistant to thrips and mite.

§  CH-1 and CH-3 was developed by Punjab Agriculture University using genetic male sterility.

§  Arka Lohit: Tolerant to powdery mildew.

§  Bacterial wilt resistant variety: Utkal Rashmi, Arka Gaurav

§  Punjab Surkh is multiple disease resistant variety i.e., leaf curl, TMV, wilt and dieback.

§  Punjab Lal is multiple insect pest i.e., leaf eating caterpillar, mites and aphid’s resistant variety

§  Chilli leaf crul resistant variety: Pusa Jwala, Pusa Sadabahar, Pant C-1.

§  G-5 (Andhra Jyoti) is thrips resistant cultivar.

§  Pusa Sadabahr: multi-purpose cultivar.

§  Sindhur: a dual-purpose cultivar.

§  Pant C-1: erect fruit habit, suitable for export.

§  Puri red: resistant to mosaic disease.

§  Suitable for color extraction: Arka Abir, Punjab Lal.

§  Kt-19: paprika cultivar, suitable for powder and good for export.

§  NA-46-A: tolerant to thrips.

Ø  Varieties of capsicum:

§  Sweet Banana, California Wonder, Yolo Wonder, Arka Mohini, Arka Gaurav, Arka Basant, King of North, Pusa Deepti, Kt-1, Bharat, Green Gold, Nishant.

Ø  Climate

ü  Chilli crop tolerate extremes of climate than tomato and brinjal.

ü  It is raised from sea level to 2000 meter above sea level.

ü  Chilli is very sensitive to frost.

ü  The optimum temperature for fruit set is 24°C.

ü  When night temperature goes below l0°C, the fruit set is restricted.

ü  Day-neutral crop.

ü  Long dry periods are likely to result in flower shedding and fruit fall.

ü  Comparatively milder climatic conditions are preferred for sweet pepper cultivation as compared to hot pepper.

ü  Temperature above 23.5°C affects development of fruits adversely.

ü  The mild climate favorably affects its yield potential and quality.

ü  The climatic conditions of Himachal Pradesh and Southern states are highly favorable for its growth and development.

ü  Fruit weight, length, girth, pericarp thickness and number of seeds per fruit were high at 25°C/18°C day and night temperatures.

Ø  Sowing time:

ü  Kharif season is the major season for growing chillies in India.

ü  In Southern India, the three crops i.e. kharif, rabi and summer crops are taken.

ü  June to October is the major chilli growing period in South India.

ü  Kharif crop: June to July,

ü  Rabi crop: October to November, and

ü  Summer crop: January to February.

Ø  Early autumn-winter grown crop (June-July) is ideal for chilli seed production.

Ø  Clipping of seedlings 10 days before transplanting is done in chilli for quick branching.

Ø  pH: 5.8 to 6.5.

Ø  Chilli crop is very sensitive to waterlogging.

Ø  Quality of fruits is better in light soils than in heavy soils.

Ø  Manure and Fertilizers

ü  FYM@ 250 q FYM or compost.

ü  N:P: K@ 150:75:75 kg/ha.

Ø  Spacing: 60 x 45 cm2.

Ø  Unfavorable climatic conditions lead to poor fruit set and fruit drop in chilli.

Ø  It has been reported that fruit set and retention under abiotic stresses may be improved at a great extent by use of different growth hormones.

Ø  Spray of NAA@50 ppm at the time of flowering improved fruit set and fruit retention.

Ø  Harvesting:

ü  Chilli is mainly grown for ripe fruits whereas bell pepper is grown for green fruits.

ü  Green fruits are harvested when they are still green in colour at 60 days after transplanting and dry fruits 90 days after transplanting.

ü  Generally, 5 to 6 pickings are made for green chillies while two to three pickings for red ripe fruits.

ü  Pimiento (Georgia) and paprikas are harvested at fully red color.

Ø  Yield:

Crop

Rainfed

Irrigated

Green chillies

50-60 q/ha

200-300 q/ha

Dry chillies

5-6 q/ha

20-30   q/ha

Ø  Green to dry chilli ratio is 10:1.

Ø  Variety with thin pericarp, less seeds, strong spike is suitable for drying.

Ø  Excess of N with water stress: is cause to blossom end rot of fruits of capsicum.

Ø  NAA (50 ppm) and tricontinol (0.5 ppm) is used to control fruit drop during monsoon and summer season, respectively.

Ø  Parthenocarpy in chilli and capsicum is due to temperature below than 18 0C.

Ø  Pest and diseases:

Diseases

Causal organism/vector

Remarks

 

Fungal disease

Damping off

Pythium aphanidermatum, Rhizoctonia sp., Fusarium sp., Phytophthora parasitica

It causes damage both at pre-and post- emergence of seedling

 

Anthracnose/dieback/ripe fruit rot

Collatotrichum capsici

Seed borne disease

 

Frog eye leaf spot

Cercospora capsici

Most common nursery disease

 

Fruit rot

Phytophthora capsici

 

 

Powdery mildew

Leveillula taurica

 

 

Blight

Alternaria solani

 

 

Bacterial Disease

Bacterial leaf spot

Xanthomonas vesicatoria

-

 

Viral diseases

Mosaic

Tobacco mosaic virus

Aphids

 

Chilli leaf curl

Vector: white fly + thrips

 

 

Nematode

Root knot nematode

Meloidogyne arenaria

 

 

Insect pest

 

Thrips

Scirtothrips dorsalis

 

 

Aphids

Aphis gossypii, Myzus persicae

 

 

White fly

Bemisia tabaci

 

 

Fruit borer

Spodoptera litura

 

 

 

Ø  Physiological disorder: Blossom end rot- due to excessive N2 and water stress

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