Genetic analysis on nutritional characteristics of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) varieties available in Bangladesh

The fruits of seven cultivated varieties of, chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) var. abbreviatum, acuminatum, annuum, cerasiformis, conoides, fasciculatum and nigra were analysed biochemically at green and ripe stages grown in two sets of experiments for vitamin C, beta-carotene, protein, lipid and capsaicin. The chemical characters showed a wide range of distribution without any distinguishable groups, indicating that they are quantitative in nature and are under polygenic control. In the analysis of mean of varieties, cerasiformis and annuum exhibited the highest amount of vitamin C in green chillies and beta-carotene in ripe chillies, respectively; while fasciculatum was the best for protein and capsaicin in ripe chillies and conoides was the best for lipid in ripe form, The heritability values were estimated to be low in general, however, broad sense heritability was higher for protein in ripe chillies and beta-carotene in green and ripe form; therefore, selection breeding experiment with the varieties like, annuum, cerasiformis, conoides and fasciculatum may yield good results as they exhibited better performances for the biochemical parameters studied.