Comparison of qualitative traits, biological value, chemical compounds of sweet pepper fruit

Abstract

Sweet pepper fruits have a high biological value, a rich content of minerals. At present, large-fruit cultivars, distinguishable by a thick pericarp wall, high processing efficiency, good growth on fields, under covers, dominate in sweet pepper cultivation. The present research has been conducted to compare the qualitative traits, chemical composition of sweet pepper fruits of the Red Knight F1 cultivar grown in a greenhouse, on open field. The evaluation of qualitative traits, biological value, chemical composition demonstrated that fruits from the greenhouse cultivation were characterized by significantly larger fruit weight, weight of edible parts as compared to those harvested from a field, although they did not differ significantly in the pericarp thickness. Fruits produced on a field had a higher ratio of the technological to total fruit weight, which proves that the cultivar is an attractive choice for field cultivation of sweet pepper, suitable for processing. Pepper fruits from a field versus the ones grown in a greenhouse contained significantly less dry matter, reducing sugars but more vitamin C. The greenhouse-grown fruits contained higher levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium than those from a field.