× environment interaction ( Harvell and Bosland, 1997 ). Pungency results from the presence of capsaicinoids, which are vanillylamine acid amides and C 9 to C 11 branched chain fatty acids; capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin account for ≈80% of all capsaicinoids
to those grown in the rest of the world because of their long shelf life and pungency. Capsaicin and other related compounds, commonly called capsaicinoids, are phenolic compounds characteristic of some fruits of the genus Capsicum ( Bennett and
the chili fruits. The major analogs are capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, accounting for more than 90% of the total capsaicinoid content in the majority of Capsicum spp. ( Nunez-Palenius and Ochoa-Alejo, 2005 ). Genetically, capsaicinoid production is
potential ingredient in salsa combinations and even serving as a candidate in the industrial extraction of capsaicin for various products ( Sanatombi and Sharma, 2008 ). However, few Habanero pepper breeding programs exist worldwide, limiting the potential
Colorimetric and chromatographic methods were used to assess capsaicinoid levels in a pungent Caribbean-grown pepper collection comprising 28 accessions of Capsicum chinense and one each of C. annuum and C. frutescens. Two colorimetric methods, one commonly used and attributed to Bajaj (1980) and a modification of the Bajaj method were also compared for congruity and ease of use. Capsaicin content of the cultivars ranged from 37.6 to 497.0 mg/100 g in ripe fruits and 27.8 to 404.5 mg/100 g in green fruit, as determined by Bajaj's method. The corresponding Scoville units of pungency varied from 15,000 to 300,000 for ripe fruit and 7,500 to 270,000 for green fruit. Levels of capsaicin assessed by the modified Bajaj method varied from 15.0 to 402.4 mg/100 g and 13.7 to 356.4 mg/100 g in ripe and green fruit, respectively. On the basis of capsaicin levels assessed by each colorimetric method, the pepper cultivars were differentiated into seven distinct pungency groups. For each method, similar groupings of cultivars were observed for ripe and green fruit and groups of the same numerical designation were mainly comprised of common assessions. These results indicate that the two colorimetric methods generally agree. In contrast, the modified colorimetric method was more efficient than Bajaj's procedure, which required pretreatment of pepper extracts to remove the extracting solvent by evaporation and interfering chromogenic pigments by column chromatography. Phase separation of capsaicin and interfering pigments in pepper extracts by use of dilute acid was the only pretreatment required in the modified Bajaj method before colorimetry. High performance liquid chromatography performed on fruit extracts of the cultivars revealed the presence of the capsaicinoids capsaicin, homocapsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, and homodihydrocapsaicin. Capsaicin and homocapsaicin were detected in greater abundance than dihydrocapsaicin and nordihydrocapsaicin in fruit of all cultivars. Homodihydrocapsaicin was the least abundant of the capsaicinoids and was generally absent in ripe fruit.
990 Capsicum annuum varieties were assessed at the seedling stage in greenhouse for their resistance to TMV(T), CMV(C) and anthracnose(A), and their mature (purple-red) fruits were analyzed for the content of dry matter(DM), vitamin C(VC) and capsaicin(CA). The data were eventually analyzed by means of correlation and path coefficient analysis. The result was as follows: the content of DM had little positive effect but significantly (P=O.O1) negative effect on the resistance to TWV, CMV and anthracnose, i.e. Pdt=0.0066, Pdc=(-0 .1364**), Pda=(-0.1881**); whereas the content of VC or CA respectively exerted positive effect, even significantly (P=0.01) positive effect, on the resistance to TMV, CMV and anthracnose, i.e. Pvt=0.0756**, Pvc=0.0093, Pva=0.2069** and Pct=0.2003**, Pcc=0.2300**, Pca=0.0091.
The influence of N and K rates in Hoagland's nutrient solution on Jalapeño pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) plant growth and pod production was determined on greenhouse-grown plants in sand culture. Varying the rates of N (1 to 30 mm) and K (1 to 12 mm) in Hoagland's solution identified optimum concentrations for Jalapeño plant growth and pod production. Two experiments were conducted to determine Jalapeño pepper sensitivity to differential fertilization. In the experiment seeded in April, nutrient treatments began at transplanting, and in the one seeded in May, treatments began after all plants had flower buds and half had flowered. Biomass and pod production per plant responded curvilinearly to N rate in both experiments. Optimum N rate for pod yield was 15 mm. Nitrogen rate affected pungency of pods only in the first experiment, with 1 mm N reducing capsaicin levels in fruit compared to other N rates. Biomass, fruit count, and fruit weight per plant increased linearly with increasing K rate in the first experiment and curvilinearly with K rate in the second experiment. The optimum K rate for pod yield was 6 mm. Potassium rates did not affect pod pungency. Jalapeño peppers grown in sand culture required 15 mm N and at least 3 mm K for optimum pod production.
rootstock-scion combinations ( Padilla et al., 2021 ; Sánchez-Chávez et al., 2015 ). Previous studies have reported dramatic changes in fruit shape, plant habit, and capsaicin content in scions of pungent pepper ‘Yatsubusa’ grafted onto nonpungent ‘Spanish
) method was used for the estimation of capsaicin content and pungency. Statistical analysis. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design. A total of three replicates for each treatment was taken. Treatment means were compared by analysis of
In order to evaluate the advantages of parthenocarpy in the breeding of Capsicum, we investigated the percentage of fruit set after emasculation or excision of styles, fruit size, and amounts of ß-carotene, capsaicinoids, and ascorbic acids of the seedless fruits of Capsicum annuum L. `Shishiroh' no. 562. Seedless fruits were induced from ≈80% of flower buds after emasculation or excision of styles. The levels of ß-carotene (44.07 μg·g-1), capsaicin (1.73 mg·g-1), and dihydrocapsaicin (1.12 mg·g-1) of mature seedless fruits were 10 times higher than those of seeded fruits. The amount of ascorbic acid, however, was at the same level (≈230 mg/100 g). The length of the seedless fruit was ≈50% smaller than that of the seeded fruit at 2 weeks after the flowering and decreased to 44% at mature stage.