Abstract: This study examined some phenological, morphological and pomological features of different ornamental pepper (Capsicum sp.) species and lines under the conditions of Cukurova Region, Turkey. The field trials used a randomized complete block design with three replications. Different ornamental pepper species and lines varied depending on testing years, in terms of plant height (cm), the number of branches (number/plant), the number of fruits (number/plant), the weight of fresh fruit (g plant-1), the yield of fresh fruit (kg ha-1) and the breadth and length of fruit. Fresh yields of different ornamental pepper species and lines varied between 9412 -24418 kg ha-1 in the testing years. The highest fresh yield was observed from line C. frutescens 26 (24418 kg ha-1). It was determined that the fresh yield from the first harvest was higher than the others.
INTRODUCTION
There is increasing interest in herbal medicines and other herbal raw materials. Some plants have greater importance for such uses, due to their fields of use, their yield and their approved beneficial effects (Yaldiz et al., 2010). Ornamental pepper (Capsicum sp.) which has been used for centuries as both food and medicine, is one the plants that is increasingly important in herbal applications (Castillo-Sanchez et al., 2010).
The capsicum genus within the Solanacea familia comprises approximately 20 species growing at tropical and subtropical regions of the New World (Basu and De, 2003). It has different types such as long green, bell, charleston, big square and conical. Bitterness depends on the capsaicin (C18H27O3N) content and composition of the fruit and it is located in the placenta section. Capsaicin in the fresh red Capsicum fruits is two to three fold more than in green Capsicum fruits. It is a good food vegetable for its food value. It is especially very rich for vitamin C (103 mg 100 g-1). Capsicum sp. composition also contains volatile oil and fixed oil (Hayoglu et al., 2005; Batlang, 2008; Sener and Sahin, 2010; Aminifard et al., 2010; Olorunsanya et al., 2009).
Bitter red Capsicum stimulates gastric secretions and induces salivary flow when taken fresh. Besides its appetitive characteristic, it also has a disinfecting agent characteristic in the digestive system. It increases body temperature, alleviates the cramps, eases digestion, beautifies the skin, eliminates drunkenness, helps for headache, may be used for gout disease, helps for cough and throat ache, settles down the temper and efficient in rheumatismal pains. Moreover, the red carotenoid substance in the composition of the capsaicin has a cancer-preventing characteristic (Bosland, 1994).
Grown in Turkey, pepper is mostly desiccated and processed to be used as a spice and then consumed both domestically and abroad. In Turkey, cultivation area of ornamental pepper in 2009 covered 913.72 ha and production was 196.900 tonnes. Turkey has no stability in the dried ornamental pepper export. In 2009, total national sales of 510.492 kg generated an income of 1.61 million U.S. dollars (Anonymous, 2010).
This study examined the yield and yield components of different foreign ornamental pepper species and lines, grown under the conditions of Cukurova region; the study sought ways to increase the variety and seed quality of pepper lines which are two of the most important problems of ornamental pepper agriculture in Turkey.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study was conducted in the crop-trial area of the Department of Field Crops, Agricultural Faculty, Cukurova University in 2003 and 2004. The experiments used a randomized complete block design with three replications. Each plot had 5 rows (50 plants in total, 70 plants with the edge effect), row spacing was 70 cm and intra row spacing was 40 cm. Each plot in the trial has an area of 4x3.5 = 14 m2 and total trial area was 21x18.4 = 386.4 m2 including access paths.
| Table 1: | Detailed work schedule of field experiments |
Average climatic data of the experimental area in the vegetation period (May-October) were 26.2°C temperature, 48.8 mm rainfall and 68.4% humidity in 2003 and 25.3°C temperature, 31.8 mm rainfall and 68.1% humidity in 2004 (Anonymous, 2004). Research area soils had a clay-loamy texture with 7.50 pH. The useful phosphor value, total nitrogen and lime content were in the ranges of 55.3-96.2 kg ha-1, 0.10-0.15% and 24-28%, respectively (Ortas, 1996).
Seed materials of six Capsicum species and local lines (Capsicum frutescens 12, Capsicum frutescens 26, Capsicum frutescens 35, Capsicum chinense 38, Aci Sus Biberi 48 and Aci Cicek 52) used in the present study were obtained from different countries and local farmers. Detailed work schedules of the field studies are given in Table 1 and Herbal features of all of these six species has been presented in Table 10.
Seedlings used in the study were grown under greenhouse conditions and transplanted to fields. During the vegetation period in the experimental years, all required agricultural practices were carried out. Before transplantation of the seedlings, 30 kg ha-1 DAP (Diamonium Phosphate) was applied to the plots as a base fertilizer. After transplantation, nitrogenous fertilizer as Urea (in total 50 kg ha-1) was applied to the plants in two splits in May and June. According to weather conditions, irrigation was performed by 4-5-day interval until flowering and by 6-7-day interval after flowering. The irrigation of the plants was performed by sprinkling until flowering and by furrow irrigation during later periods. No chemicals were applied in the experiments.
Examined features schedules of the field studies are given in below.
Phenological features:
Date of flowering, fruit setting and fruit maturity: Dates of first
flowering, first fruit setting and first fruit maturity of the trial species
and lines were determined.
Pomological features:
| • | Flower color: The colors of flowers were determined as white-yellow, light yellow-green and green |
| • | Fruit shape: The fruits were classified according to their shapes (thin sharp, thick sharp, conical and fit for stuffing) and according to their types of fruit ends (sharp ended and blunt ended) |
| • | Fruit length (cm): Ten plants were selected randomly from each parcel after the harvest. The average fruit length was calculated by measuring all of the fruits from the stem to the end of the fruit |
| • | Fruit breadth (cm): Ten plants were selected randomly from each parcel after the harvest. The fruit widths were determined by measuring all of the fruits at the widest point, close to the stem |
Herbal features and yield
Position of the fruit according to plant or stem: The positions
of the fruits were determined as vertical, horizontal or lateral to the main
stem or on the main branch, as a single or multiple fruit formation.
| • | Plant length (cm): The values taken by measuring the range from the soil to the top of ten plants randomly selected from each parcel after the harvest by a meter was averaged |
| • | Number of branches (piece/plant): The number of main branches coming out of the stem was determined and averaged for 10 plants randomly selected from each parcel after the harvest |
| • | The number of fruits (number/plant): The number of fruits was established as the number/plant after the harvest by counting all of the fruits from 10 plants, randomly chosen from each plot and calculating the average of that number |
| • | The weight of fresh fruit per plant (g/plant): After the harvest, 10 plants were randomly chosen from each plot, the weights of all fresh fruits on those plants were established and the average was calculated as g/plant |
| • | Fresh fruit yield (kg ha-1): Weights of all fruits harvested from each plot were established and then the total yields were calculated for the plot field as kg ha-1 |
Experimental design and statistical analysis: Different ornamental species and lines were designed as main plots and the sub-plots were designed as harvest times. Total annual yield (the weight of fresh fruit per plant, fresh fruit yield per ha), total number of fruits, length of plants and number of branches per plant were subject to analysis of variance according to the randomized block experimental design, while the breadth of fruit, length of fruit, number of fruits, weight of fresh fruit per plant and fresh fruit yield per ha were subject to analysis of variance according to the split plots experimental design.
Statistical analysis of the experimental data was conducted with the MSTATC statistical program. Differences between the average values were compared by LSD (Least Significant Differences) at a 5% probability level.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Phenological features: The first flowering, fruit setting and fruit maturity dates of different ornamental pepper species and lines in the trial years are shown in Table 2. In both trial years, different ornamental pepper species and lines showed differing flowering, fruit setting and fruit maturity times. First blossoms in the species and lines appeared between 01-16 June, fruit setting occurred between 06-20 June and fruit maturity occurred between 22 July-03 August (Table 2). This range of dates indicates that different ornamental pepper species and lines require different temperatures.
As shown in Table 2, in both trial years, the line with the earliest flowering was Aci Cicek 52. This was followed by C. frutescens 12, C. frutescens 35 and Aci Sus Biberi 48 lines. The line with the latest flowering, fruit setting and maturity times was C. frutesecens 26.
Pomological features
Length of fruit: Examination of the fruit lengths of different ornamental
pepper species and lines according to harvests shows that, in the first year
the longest fruit length was obtained from the first harvest of Aci Cicek 52
(6.41 cm) while in the second year it was obtained from the first harvest of
C. frutescens 12 (6.28 cm). Although the variations in the fruit lengths
of species and lines were not statistically significant in the second year,
fruit lengths decreased with the harvest times. The shortest fruit length was
obtained from the third harvest of C. chinense 38 (respectively 2.07
and 2.73 cm) line in both years (Table 3).
Fruit lengths among different ornamental pepper species and lines varied in 2.91-6.12 cm range, on average. When the different ornamental pepper species are examined, the fruit lengths of C. frutescens (C. frutescens 12, C. frutescens 26, C. frutescens 35) ranged between 4.66 and 6.12 cm and similar fruit lengths were observed among the lines. Average fruit lengths of Aci Sus Biberi 48 and Aci Cicek 52 lines which constitute the Kahramanmaras populations were between 4.27 and 5.61 cm and were similar to the lines of C. frutescens. Average fruit length of the C. chinense 38 line of the C. chinense species varied between 2.91 and 2.94 cm and differed from the Kahramanmaras populations and C. frutescens species.
In the study, it was reported that the lengths of the Kahramanmaras peppers fresh red fruits were 7.5-12 cm on average and the fruit lengths of the first harvest were greater than those of other harvests (Trenning, 1971; Dogantan and Tuncer, 1989).
| Table 2: | First flowering, fruit setting and fruit maturity dates of different ornamental pepper species (Capsicum spp.) and line |
| Table 3: | HarvestxSpecies and lines interaction regarding fruit length (cm) of ornamental pepper species and lines |
| LSD (5%): 2003 harvestxspecies and line: 0.42, 2004 species and line avg.: 0.51 harvest avg.: 0.28, No. within a column with same letter (s) are not significantly different at 5% level | |
In a study of Capsicum species, it was established that fruit lengths among the species varied between 1.5-16 cm (Green and Kim, 1991; Alegbejo and Orakwue, 2002). Previous studies reported that the fruit lengths of Capsicum species were higher in the first blossoms (Dewitt and Bosland, 1996). Alparslan (2007) reported that the fruit lengths of Capsicum frutescens populations were 4.35-6.85 cm on average. In their study of 38 Capsicum sp. lines and species, Yaldiz and Ozguven (2011) reported that fruit lengths were between 1.77 and 10.67 cm.
In the present study, the highest fruit lengths were obtained from the C. frutescens and Kahramanmaras populations and the fruit lengths among the lines varied according to the genetic features of the lines. It was observed that there was no significant difference between the fruit lengths of the lines. The highest fruit lengths were obtained from the first harvest in both year. These results are in agreement with those of Trenning (1971) and Dogantan and Tucer (1989). This difference may be based on genetic features.
Breadth of fruit: Examination of the fruit breadths of different ornamental pepper species and lines according to harvest times shows that the highest fruit breadth was obtained from the first harvest of C. chinense 38 (2.16 cm) line in the first year while in the second years it was obtained again from the first two harvests of C. chinense 38 (1.9 cm). The lowest fruit breadths in the first year were obtained from the third harvest of C. frutescens 35 (0.46 cm) line while it was obtained from the third harvest of Aci Sus Biberi 48 (0.43 cm) line in the second year (Table 4).
As shown in Table 4, fruit breadths of different ornamental pepper species and lines varied between 0.51-2.03 cm on average. Examination of different ornamental pepper species shows that fruit breadths of the lines belonging to C. frutescens (C. frutescens 12, C. frutescens 26, C. frutescens 35) ranged between 0.52 and 0.88 cm on average and similar fruit breadths were observed among the lines. Average fruit breadths of the Aci Sus Biberi 48 and Aci Cicek 52 lines which are Kahramanmaras populations, were between 0.51 and 0.72 cm and were similar to the lines of C. frutescens. Average fruit breadth of the C. chinense line varied between 1.71 and 2.03 cm and differed from the Kahramanmaras populations and C. frutescens species.
Green and Kim (1991) indicated that fruit breadths of the Capsicum frutescens lines were between 0.5 and 3.0 cm. In their study of 42 Capsicum species, Alegbejo and Orakwue (2002) reported fruit breadths were between 0.8 and 2.3 cm. In their study of the 38 Capsicum sp. lines and populations, Yaldiz and Ozguven (2011) reported that fruit breadths were between 0.27 and 2.40 cm. Alparslan (2007) reported that the fruit breadths of Capsicum frutescens populations were 0.68-0.95 cm on average.
In the present study, the highest fruit breadth (2.16 cm) was obtained from C. chinense 38 line and the lowest fruit breadth (0.46 cm) was obtained from C. frutescens 35 line (Table 4). The fruit breadths recorded in the present study are similar to the findings of other researchers.
Herbal features and yield
Length of plant: During the trial years, the longest plant length
was obtained from the C. chinense 38 line both in the first year (as
96.13 cm) and the second year (as 93.83 cm). The shortest plant length was obtained
from the Aci Cicek 52 (50.90 cm) line in the first year and from theAci Sus
Biberi 48 (45.90 cm) line in the second year (Table 5).
Average plant lengths of different ornamental pepper species and lines ranged from 51.02 to 94.98 cm during the trial years. While the plant lengths showed no significant difference by years, it was observed that the plant lengths were higher in the first year. It is known that night temperature below 16°C slows the growth of pepper plants. Therefore, it is thought that the difference in average plant lengths between the two study years is the result of higher night temperatures in 2003 (12.3°C in May and 15.8°C in June) compared to 2004 (10.9°C in May and 14.7°C in June).
| Table 4: | HarvestxSpecies and lines interaction regarding the fruit breadths (cm) of ornamental pepper species and lines |
| LSD (5%): 2003 harvestxspecies and line: 0.11, 2004 harvestxspecies and line: 0.11, No. within a column with same letter (s) are not significantly different at 5% levels | |
| Table 5: | Average plant lengths (cm) of different ornamental pepper species (Capsicum sp.) and lines |
| LSD (5%): 2003 species and line: 10.39, 2004 species and line: 13.03, No. within a row with same letter(s) are not significantly different at 5% levels | |
Studies conducted with Capsicum species indicated that the plant lengths ranged between 40.3 and 83.6 cm (Alegbejo and Orakwue, 2002; Aman et al., 2002; Gajc-Wolska and Skapski, 2002). Gunay (1992) reported that the length of C. frutescens species were between 50 and 100 cm. Hatwar et al. (2003) reported that C. anuum var javanti species had the average highest plant length of 70.36 cm. Alparslan (2007) reported that the plant lengths of Capsicum frutescens populations were 44.60-70.77 cm on average. Yaldiz and Ozguven (2011) reported that the plant lengths of Capsicum sp. lines and populations were 37.67-117.7 cm on average. The results of the present study are in agreement with the results of previous studies.
Number of branches: Table 6 shows that the highest number of branches was obtained in C. frutescens 26 in both years of the study (12.03 per plant in 2003; 12.17 per plant in 2004). In both years, the lowest number of branches was found in Aci Cicek 52 (8.90 per plant in 2003; 5.60 per plant in 2004).
Average number of branches per plant for different ornamental pepper species and lines ranged between 7.25 and 12.10 per plant in the trial years. The number of branches per plant differed between years and was higher in the first year of the study. This is the result of suitable night and day temperatures for the growth of pepper species during 2003. Aman et al. (2002) examined the effect of different fertilizers and row spacing on Capsicum species. They found that the number of branches per plant ranged between 7.78 and 9.13. In a study of C. annum var javanti, Hatwar et al. (2003) reported that the maximum average branch number was 11.2 per plant. Yaldiz and Ozguven (2011), in their study of 38 Capsicum sp. lines and populations, reported that the number of branches per plant was 5.0-14.67 on average. Alparslan (2007) reported that the number of branches per plant was between 5.44 and 8.44 on Capsicum frutescens populations.
| Table 6: | No. of branches (number/plant) of ornamental pepper species and lines per plant |
| LSD (5%): 2003 species and line: 2.319, 2004 species and line: 4.051, No. within a row with same letter(s) are not significantly different at 5% levels | |
Aminifard et al. (2010) examined the effect of different row spacing on Capsicum annum L. They reported that the number of branches per plant was 10.0-11.51 on average. The results of the present study are similar to those of other studies.
Number of fruits: Examination of fruit numbers of different ornamental pepper species and lines according to harvest times shows that the maximum number of fruits in the first year occurred in the second harvest of Aci Sus Biberi 48 (215.6 number/plant) line while in the second year , the maximum number occurred in the first harvest of the Aci Sus Biberi 48 (278.6 number/plant) line. Minimum number of fruits was obtained in the first harvest of C. chinense 38 (43.6 number/plant) line in the first year while in the second year, it was obtained from the third harvest of Aci Sus Biberi 48 (15.2 number/plant) line (Table 7).
The fruit numbers of different ornamental pepper species and lines ranged between 175.4 and 460.4 per plant. In the trial years (2003 and 2004), maximum total fruit number was obtained in the Aci Sus Biberi 48 (respectively 460.4 and 430.4 per plant) line. Also minimum fruit number was obtained in the C. chinense 38 line both in the first year (as 246.9 number/plant) and the second year (as 175.4 number/plant).
It was indicated that more than 100 blossoms grew in the Capsicum species and the number of mature fruit reflected the number of flowers (Dewitt and Bosland, 1996). They reported, in their study of chili peppers, that the average number of fruit was 51.0-107.8 per plant (Mahalakshmi et al., 1999; Munshi et al., 2000). Hatwar et al. (2003), in their study of C. annum var javanti species, determined as the maximum number of fruit as 184.12 per plant. They reported, in their study of 38 Capsicum sp. lines and populations, that the average number of fruit was 2.0-370.7 per plant (Yaldiz and Ozguven, 2011). Alparslan (2007) reported that the number fruits of Capsicum frutescens populations were 75.93-156.93 per plant on average.
| Table 7: | HarvestsxSpecies and lines interaction regarding the fruit numbers of different ornamental pepper species and lines |
| LSD (5%): 2003 harvestxspecies and line: 18.17, Total harvests: 27.4, 2004 harvestxspecies and line: 12.54, Total harvests: 42.99, No. within a column with same letter (s) are not significantly different at 5% levels | |
The results of this study conflicts with the results of Mahalakshmi et al. (1999), Munshi et al. (2000), Hatwar et al. (2003) and Alparslan (2007). It is known that plants divaricate further and produce more fruits at the ground conditions which contain sufficient nutrients for plant growth. As the vegetation period was extended due to the nutrient-rich bottom earth of the experimental plot and suitable weather conditions and the most appropriate plantation frequency for pepper growing (70x40 cm) was applied, the number of fruits per plant increased.
Weight of fresh fruit per plant: Examination of the species and lines in terms of the fresh fruit weights per plant shows that the highest fresh fruit weight was obtained from the first harvest of C. frutescens 26 (300.8 g/plant) line in the first year while in the second year it was again obtained from the first harvest of C. frutescens 26 (404.3 g/plant) line. The lowest fresh fruit weight was obtained in the first year from the third harvest of C. frutescens 35 (18.9 g/plant) line while in the second year it was obtained from the third harvest of Aci Sus Biberi 48 (4.29 g/plant) line (Table 8).
Fresh fruit weights per plant varied according to the harvest times. The highest fresh fruit weight was obtained in the first year from the first two harvests while in the second year it was obtained from the first harvest.
In the trial years, fresh fruit yields per plant in different ornamental pepper and lines ranged between 253.9 and 657.5 g/plant. In both years, the highest total fresh fruit weight was obtained from C. frutescens 26 (respectively 657.5, 566 g/plant) line. The lowest total fresh fruit weight was obtained from C. frutescens 12 (253.9 g/plant) line in the first year of the trial and from C. frutescens 35 (279.9 g/plant) in the second year. While there was no significant difference among the fresh fruit yields by years, fresh fruit yield per plant was higher in the first year. This outcome is related to the temperature differences between the years.
Padem and Alan (1994), in their study on the yields of pepper plants, indicated that the yield per plant was between 128 and 437 g/plant. Cho et al. (2003) found the average fresh fruit yield per plant was 437 g in the Saeng-ryeog 216 line of the C. annum species. Munshi et al. (2000), in their study of 30 chili pepper genotypes, reported the highest fruit weight as 210.68 g/plant. Fresh fruit weight per plant in the present study was slightly higher than reported in other studies. Fresh fruit weight per plant is directly affected by yield elements such as the number of branches per plant and number of fruits. Increases in the yield elements in suitable conditions affect the fruit weight per plant positively. Providing optimum growth conditions has a positive impact on yields.
Fresh fruit yield: Examination of total fresh fruit yields among different ornamental pepper species and lines shows that the highest yield was obtained from C. frutescens 26 (respectively, 24418, 20290 kg ha-1) line in both years. The lowest total fresh fruit yield was obtained from the Aci Cicek 52 (9412 kg ha-1) line in 2003 while it was obtained from the C. frutescens 35 (9998 kg ha-1) line in 2004 (Table 9).
In the trial years, the total fresh fruit yield ranged between 9412 and 24418 kg ha-1 among the lines. In the first year of the trial, high yield was obtained in the first two harvests while in the second year the highest yield was obtained from the first harvest. In both trial years, the lowest yield was obtained from the third harvest. C. frutescens 26 was defined as having the highest total fresh yield while C. frutescens 35 had the lowest yield.
Previous studies of the yields of different ornamental pepper species and lines showed that yields ranged between 23.9 and 27.6 t ha-1 (Uher and Balogh, 2001) and 20.17 to 25.98 t ha-1 (Aman et al., 2002). In a study of 20 Chili pepper species, They reported that the yield was between 2476 and 4663 kg ha-1 (Bayraktar, 1970; Seniz, 1992).
| Table 8: | HarvestxSpecies and lines interaction regarding the fresh fruit weight (g plant-1) in the harvests of ornamental pepper species and lines |
| LSD (5%): 2003 harvestxspecies and line: 20.02, Total harvests: 20.71: 2004 harvestxspecies and line: 15.01, Total harvests: 28.22, No. within a column with same letter (s) are not significantly different at 5% levels | |
| Table 9: | HarvestxSpecies and lines interaction regarding the fresh fruit yield (kg ha-1) in the different harvests of different ornamental pepper species and lines |
| LSD (5%) : 2003 harvestxspecies and line: 654.8, Total harvests: 1065: 2004 harvestxspecies and line: 841.1, Total harvests: 1090, No. within a column with same letter (s) are not significantly different at 5% levels | |
| Table 10: | Certain herbal features of ornamental pepper species (Capsicum sp.) and lines used in the trial |
Yaldiz and Ozguven (2011), in their study on the yields of pepper plants were between 416.0 and 64270 kg ha-1. Gencoglan et al. (2006) reported that the yields of Kahramanmaras red peppers were 284-1358 kg ha-1 on average. The results of the present study are similar to those of other studies.
CONCLUSION
Although most regions of Turkey have suitable weather conditions for ornamental pepper agriculture, there is a decrease in the ornamental pepper cultivation areas and production rates; the main reasons for this are the variety and the seed. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce foreign species to be used for dried capsicum, to facilitate their adaptation to growing conditions in Turkey and to establish their yield and quality features. In this study, the yield components of various foreign ornamental pepper species and lines were found to exceed the world average.
Although the species and lines showed variation in terms of phenological, morphological and pomological features, the plants thrived well. It was established that components of the lines belonging to the same species showed similarities. It was observed that the foreign ornamental pepper species and lines could adapt well to the growing conditions of Cukurova and the fresh fruit yield among the species and lines ranged between 9412 and 24418 kg ha-1. In both trial years, the highest total fresh fruit yield was obtained from C. frutescens 26 (respectively 24418 and 20290 kg ha-1).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study is part of a Ph.D Thesis and was supported by the Scientific Research Projects Unit of Cukurova University, Adana,Turkey.