Assessing Chilli Genotypes: A Study of Morphological and Nutritional Traits

Abstract

Capsicum spp., a member of the Solanaceae family, is a widely used vegetable crop that is mostly used as a spice, condiment, medicine, and vegetable. It is also a major source of vitamins A and C. There are about 22 wild and five cultivated species in the genus Capsicum. C. annuum, C. baccatum, C. Chinense, C. frutescens and C. pubescens are the species that are grown. Indian chilli peppers have become a major player in the world market for chilli peppers. India is the world's biggest producer, consumer, and exporter of chilli, making it unique in the world market. Over 40 per cent of the world's total chilli production comes from India. This study was planned to check the morphological and nutritional attributes of different chilli varieties/genotypes. Plant height ranged from 66.83 to 84.65 cm, while yield varied from 4699.08 to 7115.75 kg/ha.  There was a noticeable variation in moisture content, ranging from 6.36% to 8.37%. JCH-799 had the lowest protein content while Gholar had the highest concentration. Similarly, the percentage of carbohydrates ranged from 61.93% to 69.69%. JCH-18-835 and Kashmiri had the highest ascorbic acid content, ranging from 76.92 to 112.82 mg/100gm. Total phenol content was found from 1.75% to 2.14%. The principal component analyses (PCA) of plant height and yield of chilli and biochemical traits. The eigenvalue-based evaluation of economically useful features to identify the components that have a major influence on chilli genotype yield. The PCA revealed four principle components (PC) with eigenvalues greater than one, which explained roughly 77.17% of the overall variability. PC analysis revealed that PC-1 has the largest variation in eigenvalues (2.709), followed by PC-2 (1.589), and PC-3 (1.103). These findings show that there is genetic diversity amongst chilli, which can be leveraged to create high-yielding varieties with improved nutritional value.