Variability of Hot Pepper Genotypes in Ascorbic Acid Content
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Biology
Minor
Chemistry
Institution
Kentucky State University
KY House District #
57
KY Senate District #
57
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Buddhi Gyawali, PhD.; George Antonious, PhD.
Department
Department of Environmental Science
Abstract
Seeds of twenty nine (29) genotypes from Capsicum species (Family: Solanaceae) of hot pepper were selected from the USDA National Germplasm Collection (Griffin, GA) to represent four hot pepper species: Capsicum annuum L., C. baccatum L., C. chinense Jacq., and C. pubescens Ruiz & Pav. Seedlings of 60 days old were planted in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) under field conditions. At harvest, fruits were collected from each genotypes and analyzed for ascorbic acid content. The main objective of this investigation was to select candidate genotypes for use in commercial pepper production and as parents in breeding for fruit quality characteristics. Hot pepper producers look for pepper varieties that yield large quantities of high-quality peppers. Consumer’s characteristics of interest include fruits with great antioxidants content. The project could help KSU meet its objective of assisting limited-resource farmers who may grow and produce new Capsicum cultivars for use as a cash crop. Our preliminary results revealed that fruits of PI 631144, PI 439420, and PI 209028 contained 583, 566, and 244 µg ascorbic acid per gm fresh fruit, respectively.
Variability of Hot Pepper Genotypes in Ascorbic Acid Content
Seeds of twenty nine (29) genotypes from Capsicum species (Family: Solanaceae) of hot pepper were selected from the USDA National Germplasm Collection (Griffin, GA) to represent four hot pepper species: Capsicum annuum L., C. baccatum L., C. chinense Jacq., and C. pubescens Ruiz & Pav. Seedlings of 60 days old were planted in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) under field conditions. At harvest, fruits were collected from each genotypes and analyzed for ascorbic acid content. The main objective of this investigation was to select candidate genotypes for use in commercial pepper production and as parents in breeding for fruit quality characteristics. Hot pepper producers look for pepper varieties that yield large quantities of high-quality peppers. Consumer’s characteristics of interest include fruits with great antioxidants content. The project could help KSU meet its objective of assisting limited-resource farmers who may grow and produce new Capsicum cultivars for use as a cash crop. Our preliminary results revealed that fruits of PI 631144, PI 439420, and PI 209028 contained 583, 566, and 244 µg ascorbic acid per gm fresh fruit, respectively.