Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Fruits of Three Pepper Varieties 1. Introduction The production of pepper (chile, bell and specialty-type) worldwide was nearly 200 million tonnes of green pepper and 33 million tonnes of dry peppers in 2013(Naegele et al., 2016).However, the global production of peppers was recently estimated at 14.4 billion dollars (FAO, 2016), approximately forty times bigger than what was obtained in the 80's. Clearly, the market and consumption of peppers is still growing mainly owing to its fruits nutritional value, however, consumers choice could be based on the phenotype attributes (Kim et al., 2014). Selection in fruit crops was probably founded on nutritious, non-toxic, and palatable features. Pleasurable and culinary qualities, including flavor, succulence, juiciness, and other consumer-desirable characteristics were added later (Gascuel et al., 2017).Due to wide genetic variability and diversity of peppers, alternatives to several new gene rearrangements are possible. Pepper breeding are mainly aimed at features such as productivity, disease and pest resistance, fruit characteristics (bioactive compounds, pungency and flavor), and abiotic stresses (drought, salinity) (Kuhn Ojua, Eugene O.
Aim: This research was designed to evaluate the effects of different levels of three mutagens on two pepper varieties with a vision of choosing mutants with high values in biochemical contents that may possibly be valuable in breeding improved varieties of the plant. Methods: Seeds of pepper were exposed to varying doses of gamma rays 60 Co (50, 100, 150, and 200Gy), X-ray doses (40, 60, 80, and 100KV) and sodium azide (0.01, 0.02, 0.03 and 0.04%). The treated seeds and the controls were grown in the Botanic Garden of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka using a Completely Randomized Design. Results: The result showed that vitamin C and β-carotene ranged from 5.89 -26.88 and 2.62 -11.35 mg/100 g, Fe and Ca (14.70 and 13.78 mg/100 g) were highest in Shombo at 100Gy. Values ranging from 0.36-2.00 and 3.96 -18.82 mg/100 g were recorded for flavonoid and alkaloid content across all treatment combinations. The result also revealed that at 100Kv and 150Gy, ash Abu et al.; ARRB, 33(2): 1-13, 2019; Article no.ARRB.51702 2 content increased in both varieties. The highest protein concentration of 9.57% was recorded at 100Kv of X-ray in Shombo and 6.96% at 150Gy of gamma irradiation in Tatase variety. Principal component analysis explained extracted five principal axis which accounted for the variability of 72.54%. Conclusion: This study reveals that biochemical content in pepper could be improved with exposure to mutagens especially gamma irradiation. Original Research Article
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