King Chilli Research Articles

Resource-use-efficiency and Constraints Faced by the King Chilli Growers in Peren District of Nagaland

Background: The cultivating of King chilli has been practicing since long in Peren district of Nagaland; and registered under Geographical Indication Tag in the year 2006. So, the present study aimed to access the inputs used with maximum level of resource-use-efficiency tocontributethe output and highlight the major constraints faced by the King chilli growers. Methods: The present research investigation were carried out during the agricultural year 2020-21 with a total of 120 King chili growers; selected by following a multi-stage simple random quota sampling technique to access the impact. Result: The King chilli growers of marginal and small both farm size groups were found to be highly statistically significant at 1 per cent level; by ceteris paribus, the selected inputs were categorized viz; underutilized and over utilized with the available resources and further main constraints faced by the respondents were highlighted.

Bhut Jolokia (King Chilli) husbandry: A potential entrepreneurial option in North-East India

Bhut Jolokia (King Chilli) husbandry: A potential entrepreneurial option in North-East India

Genetic relatedness among interspecific hybrids in the genus Capsicum and their implications in breeding King chilli

The present study explores the potentiality of interspecific crosses using three different Capsicum species, comprising of two C. annuum (Krishna and Capsicum), five C. chinense (King chilli A1, A5, A18, A19, A20) and one C. frutescens (Mem) genotypes, with the objective to identify the incompatibility barriers, accomplish the morpho-molecular characterization of parents and hybrids and assess the genetic relatedness between the genotypes.Amongst the three species used for the crossing programme, 'Krishna' (C. annuum) and 'Mem' (C. frutescens) are local cultivars of Assam (India) and possess excellent adaptability. Guinness World Records certified King chilli, or 'Bhut Jolokia' (C. chinense), as the world's hottest chilli (10,001,304 SHU) in September 2007. King chilli has tremendous export potential but is prone to viral diseases, thereby necessitating the transfer of desirable disease resistance from local cultivars.It was observed from the study that the reciprocal crosses involving C. chinense and C. frutescens were compatible, but C. frutescens (Mem) was crossable with only accession A5, suggesting genotype specificity in the interspecific crosses. The usual Euclidean distance between Mem and A5 was 716.605Similarly reciprocal crosses involving C. annuum and C. chinense were partially incompatible. Both the C. annuum (Krishna, Capsicum) genotypes successfully crossed with King chilli accession A18 thereby exhibiting genotype specificity. It was observed that in the cross A18 x Krishna the F1 seeds failed to germinate and in the cross A18 x Capsicum the F1 plants exhibited dwarfism. Hence, unilateral incompatibility was observed when King chilli accession A18 was used as the female parent. In the reciprocal crosses, germination and plant development was normal.The pollen viability ranged from 72.64 to 94.92 % for parents and 23.55 to 81.02 % for the hybrids. Thus, hybrids exhibited lower pollen viability compared to their parents. Significant morphological differences were visible between the parents and their combinations; some features were similar to the male or female parent, and others were either intermediate or novel.Parental polymorphism was detected using thirty random SSR primers, and the markers showing polymorphic bands were used to confirm the hybridity of F1s. Therefore, an attempt was made in this study to assess the possibility of interspecific crosses to transfer disease resistance from the related species to enhance the quality of King chilli, thus improving its commercial valve.

Marketing Pattern Analysis of the King Chilli Cultivation in Peren District of Nagaland

Background: The King chilli cultivation in Peren district is very common practice in Nagaland state, which influence the socio-economic status of the family due to daily diet, so the present research work have been highlight the marketing cost and price analysis. Methods: The present research investigation for data collection works was carried out during the agricultural year 2019 to 2021 with a total of 60 King chilli respondents; selected by following a multi-stage stratified simple random sampling technique to known about the factors responsible for the production. Result: Study reveals the overall benefit-cost ratio over total cost on the sample farm was 3.27: 1. Total four marketing channel were identified and the marketing efficiency by Acharya’s method was higher (0.13) on channel A.

Assessment of growth, yield attributes and economics of King Chilli grown under protected condition in mid hills of Meghalaya

Assessment of growth, yield attributes and economics of King Chilli grown under protected condition in mid hills of Meghalaya

Resource Management in Naga King Chilli Production: Evidence from Nagaland, India

This paper analyzes resource management and the problems faced by Naga chilli growers in Nagaland. A total of 100 respondents were chosen randomly for the study, comprising of 50 farmers, 20 intermediaries and 30 customers. Findings shows that the growers practiced organic cultivation and the profit earned by chain players per kg of Naga King chillies is comparatively higher than other normal chillies in the study area. The total number of working days required for the production and cultivation of NK chilli was 183 days/ha/year, respectively. The return over cost (2.80) shows that Naga Kingh chilli production is remunerative for the growers of the study area. Major problems faced by the growers in the study area identified were wide fluctuation in price, availability/ supply shortage, handling and storage problems, perishable nature of chilli, etc. Initiating post-harvest handling practices for the tribal farmer, proper/scientific storages (like zero cooling chamber, cold storages,) forming cooperatives / FPO’s, trainings could be initiated through KVK, NGO’S, state departments, etc. could be used for retaining the shelf life of the chilli.

Efficacy of Different Levels of NPK against Anthracnose of King Chilli (Capsicum chinense) Caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) and Impact on Their Growth Parameters and Yield in Manipur

A significant disease in Capsicum that reduces crop output is anthracnose. In the current study, the effectiveness of various NPK dosages (N1-120 Kg, N2 -150 Kg, N3-90 Kg, P1-60 Kg, P2-75 Kg, P3-45 Kg, K1-60 Kg, K2-75 Kg, K3-45 Kg) against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides which caused Anthracnose diseases in King chilli and their effects on growth parameters and yield were assessed. The experiment described in Randomized Block Design (RBD) was conducted at KVK Thoubal, Manipur, from October 2021 to April 2022. Results showed that amongst the fertilizers, application of increased doses of P and K exhibited significant management of anthracnose of King chilli with 25.00% and 19.66% disease severity and ‘Control’ (60.00%) revealed high disease severity and reduced yield. The increased level of P and K also produced maximum yield with 11.17 Kg/plot and 9.30 Kg/plot in fresh weight respectively. Thus application with increased level of P and K has paramount importance in combating anthracnose in King chilli which significantly increase in the growth parameters and yield.

Insect Vectors Associated with Viral Diseases of King Chilli (Capsicum Chinense Jacq.) in North East India

A transmission study was conducted to identify and confirm the insect vectors of viral diseases of king chilli Capsicum chinense Jacquin, at the Virology Laboratory, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat. The study reveals that Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV), Potato Virus Y (PVY) and Chilli Leaf Curl Virus (ChLCV) were the viral diseases transmitted by Aphis gossypii (Glover), Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), respectively. The detection of CMV and PVY were done through DAS-ELISA assay and ChLCV was done through PCR technique. The results showed that A. gossypii and M. persicae were successfully transmitting the CMV and PVY (40% each). DAS-ELISA revealed that 57.14% of the plant and 66.67% of A. gossypii samples were found to be positive to CMV. While, 42.17 and 60.00 % of PVY detection was observed from plant and M. persicae samples, respectively. B. tabaci also successfully transmitted ChLCV with 80% of the tested plant and the PCR results revealed that the primer pair ChLCV F1 and ChLCV R1 successfully yields 550bp at annealing temperature of 48oC from the infected plant as well as from B. tabaci samples and fail to detect from healthy plants, aphids, and leafhoppers samples.

Effect of IPM Modules on Major Pests and their Natural Enemies in King Chilli <i>Capsicum Chinense</i> in Northeast India

A field experiment to evaluate some IPM modules against major pests viz., Aphis gossypii, Myzus persicae, Bemisia tabaci and their natural enemies viz., coccinellids and spiders occurring in king chilli Capsicum chinense Jacquin was carried out during rabi (2014-16) at Jorhat, Assam. The results revealed that module M2 with seedling root dip treatment with imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 40g a.i./ ha + growing of border crop (okra)+ spraying of imidacloprid 17.8SL @ 40g a.i./ ha at 20 days after transplanting at 15 days interval is the most effective in suppressing aphids and whitefly followed by lambdacyhalothrin instead of imidacloprid in both the seasons. The insecticidal treatment modules had a significant effect on the pest and the viral diseases, thereby increasing the yield, with maximum yield obtained in module M2 (3564.44 kg/ ha) and with a maximum cost-benefit ratio of 1: 4.85.

EFFECT OF 3 MONTHS-FEEDING OF A POWDER DIET FORTIFIED WITH CHILLI (GUNTUR, BIRD’S EYE, AND NAGA KING) ON SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE LEVELS IN SD RAT

Purpose: Chilli has been considered a culprit and saviour in various non-communicable disorders in the scientific world. We hypothesise that varying proportions of active principles in different chilli affect its therapeutic potential significantly, and it could be a game-changer in the area of drug discovery. Design/methodology/approach: In this regard, nutritional analysis was performed for three chillies, followed by the animal study on SD rats fed a standard rodent powder diet (20% protein) fortified with 0.005% of capsaicin (CAP) equivalent chilli powder for three months to measure superoxide dismutase (SOD) in five visceral organs/tissues. Finding: The NKC and BEC groups have shown opposite results to the GC and capsaicin equivalent groups (CEG) regarding animal body weight and SOD levels in various tissues. However, there is no change in feed intake. Research limitations/implications: In parallel, serum SOD should have been tested. Other methods for SOD analysis would fetch confirmatory results. Using a mild or moderate stress rodent model would prove its therapeutic efficacy. CAP alone might affect anti-obesity and SOD levels; however, the DHC content of chilli plays an essential role in providing synergistic or antagonistic effects on anti-obesity or activating the antioxidant system depending on the threshold level. It means it could have biphasic properties similar to capsaicin. Originality/value: The present paper generates evidence that capsaicinoid relative proportion in chilli plays an essential role in its therapeutic or negative impact on health. KEYWORDS: Naga King Chilli, Guntur Chilli, Bird’s Eye Chilli, Capsaicin, Wistar rat Paper type: Original article

First report of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii’ associated with little leaf disease of Capsicum chinense from the northeast of India

King chilli or bhut jolokia (Capsicum chinense, family Solanaceae), is a variety of capsicum indigenous to northeast India. It is considered one of the hottest chillies in the world and is one of the most valuable spice crops in India, being grown for culinary and medicinal purposes. In April 2022, phytoplasma-associated symptoms such as shortening of leaves, petioles and internodes, and stunting of the whole plant were observed on C. chinense plants in Jorhat, a district in Assam, India (Figure 1). To investigate the possibility of a phytoplasma being associated with the symptoms, total DNA was isolated from leaf samples collected from six diseased and six asymptomatic plants using a CTAB protocol (Kollar et al., 1990). The DNA was analysed by direct and nested PCR with universal phytoplasma 16S rRNA primers, and P1/P6 (Deng & Hiruki, 1991) and R16F2n/R16R2 primers (Gundersen & Lee, 1996), respectively. Amplicons of the expected size (1.5 Kb after direct PCR and 1.25 Kb after nested PCR) were obtained from diseased plants only. Nested PCR R16F2n/R16R2 products were Sanger sequenced in each direction, and the consensus sequence deposited in GenBank (Accession No. ON819760). BLASTn analysis revealed that the C. chinense phytoplasma 16Sr DNA sequence shared >99% sequence identity with those of the 16SrVI group including the isolate used to describe ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii’ (AY390261; Hiruki & Wang, 2004) and many strains found in India (e.g. MN861357 and MN861370). A phylogenetic tree (Figure 2) and an iPhyClassifier-based virtual RFLP analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the phytoplasma-associated with little leaf of C. chinense belongs to the16SrVI-D subgroup with a similarity coefficient of 1.00. Previously, different phytoplasma subgroups have been associated with Capsicum annuum in India (‘Ca. P. asteris’, 16SrII-D; Sharma et al., 2015). In the present study, we confirmed the association of the ‘Ca. P. trifolii’ subgroup D of phytoplasmas with king chilli. The 16SrVI-D subgroup of phytoplasma has been associated with several other agricultural crops and weeds in northeast India (Dutta et al., 2022). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the association of the 16SrVI-D phytoplasma subgroup with C. chinense and extends the known host range of this phytoplasma in India. In this study, affected crops had about 5–8% disease incidence based on visual observation and bearing in mind the symptoms observed, significant yield losses in commercially grown king chilli may occur. Further epidemiological and insect vector studies are needed to help formulate effective management strategies to prevent further spread.

Colocasia (Colocasia esculenta L.) in Northeast India

Northeast India is rich in genetic diversity of horticultural crops and colocasia is one of the important crops. This region is rich in colocasia diversity for both cultivated and wild species particularly in jhum fields, homestead gardens, near water bodies, river banks, forests and road sides. Wide range of variability is observed in vegetative characters, corm and cormel characters, yield and quality characters.  It is cultivated in jhum field as a mixed crop along with paddy and other crops like ginger, chilli, maize, turmeric etc. and in homestead garden, it is cultivated along with maize, cucurbits, chilli, King chilli, etc. The nutrient rich and gluten free tuber crop is an integral part of traditional cuisines of ethnic people of this region. All the plant parts of this ariod member are edible. Several traditional dishes have been prepared from leaves, petioles and tubers. The leaves, petioles and damaged tubers are also fed to pig and poultry. Recent past, the genetic diversity of colocasia is under threat due to urbanization, climate change, introduction of new crops, and pest and diseases and resulted in genetic erosion. The conservation of these vast gene pool is necessary.

Agri-Entrepreneural Behaviour of King Chilli Growers Under Dimapur District, Nagaland

The present study was conducted with the objective to find out the socio economic profile, agri-entrepreneural behaviour and attitude of king chilli growers in Dimapur district of Nagaland and find out the constraints faced by the respondents and to obtain their suggestions. A total of one hundred twenty farmers were selected from 4 villages using proportionate random sampling procedure. Data was collected by using interview method using pre-structure D interview schedule and analyzed using appropriate statistical tools. The study revealed that majority of the respondents belonged to middle aged group, had medium level of annual income with medium size of land holding. Majority of them had medium year of farming experience and medium level of extension contact. On analyzing the entrepreneural behaviour level, highest number of respondents i.e. 65.83% were having medium level of entrepreneural behaviour followed by 25 % having high and 9.16% having low levels. In respect of correlation analysis between entrepreneural behaviour level and socio- economic profile of respondents it shows that annual income, extension contact, mass media exposure and social contact are positively significant. Whereas, age, education, family type, family size, type of house, land holding, and farming experience are non-significant. In respect of the correlation analysis, the annual income, extension contact, mass media exposure and social contact were positively significant at 0.05 % level related to attitude of the people whereas age, education, family type, family size, type of house, land holding, and farming experience were found to be non-significantly related to attitude of the respondents towards king chilli production respectively.

Enhancing seed germination of king chilli (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) using pre-treatment solutions

King chilli (C. chinense Jacq.) is an important spice crops in north eastern region of India which have numerous uses in culinary preparations as well as medicinal purpose. Presence of high amount of capsaicin compound which have good impacts on human health where it’s likely to have potent effect against cancers, preclude from gastric ulcer as well as activate the immune system. However, seed borne disease like Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) as well as low germination process of king chilli seeds are the most common problems faced by farmers. PCR detection of CMV and Seed priming is expected to overcome this problem by stimulate imbibition of seed using pre-treatment solution. In this study effect of two pre-treatment solutions; Gibberellic acid (GA3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), were used along with water (H2O) as a control, were evaluated on germination process. Experimental works were carried out through imbibition of king chilli seeds in the different concentrations of pre-treatment solution and imbibition period (one hour and 24 hours). Germination percentage and growing performance of chilli seeds were assessed after ten days of sowing. The germination percentage of king chilli seed were identified based on percentage of successfully germinated king chilli seeds while the growing performances were assessed through the average length of root, stem and leaf. From the experiment revealed that the most appropriate pre-treatment solution for king chilli seeds is 6% of GA3 with one hour imbibition period with highest germination percentage (97%), and average length of root, stem and leaf of 3.5±0.1 cm, 2.6±0.1 cm and 1.7±0.2 cm, respectively and followed by 3% of H2O2 (80% germination) and H2O (65% germination), respectively.

Effect of planting time and spacing on yield, yield-attributing characters and ascorbic acid content of king chilli (Capsicum chinense) under polyhouse condition

An experiment was conducted to find out the optimum time of planting and plant density on chilli in polyhouse at Department of Horticulture, CAU, Imphal, during rabi season of 2014-15. Four planting times viz. 30 November, 19 December, 7 January and 26 January were considered as factor A and three spacings, viz. 60 cm × 60 cm, 60 cm × 45 cm and 45 cm × 45 cm were considered as factor B. The experiment was laid out in FRBD (Factorial Randomized Block Design) with 3 replications. The highest number of fruits/plant (67.83), fruit yield/plant [fresh (279.00 g) and dry (71.77g)] and fruit yield/ha [fresh (13.78 t/ha) and dry (3.44 t/ha)] were exhibited when seedling were transplanted on 7 January at a spacing of 45 cm × 45 cm ((D1S3). Similarly, maximum fruit length (5.77 cm) and diameter (2.57 cm) were shown when planting was done on 26 January at a spacing of 60 cm × 45 cm (D4S2). Highest individual fruit weight (6.07 g) was achieved when planting was done on 7 January at a spacing of 60 cm × 60 cm (D3S2). Highest ascorbic acid (149 mg/g) content was obtained from the treatment D3S2 which was planted on done 7 January at a spacing of 60 cm × 45 cm.

Disease incidence and molecular indexing of viruses infecting King chilli (Capsicum chinense Jacq) in North East India

A survey was conducted in King chilli growing areas of four Northeast states of India namely, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya for virus disease incidence particularly Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Chilli veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV) and Chilli leaf curl virus (ChiLCV). The virus disease incidence based on symptomatology ranged from 15 to 65% with highest incidence recorded in Golaghat district of Assam and lowest in the Ukhrul district of Manipur. The polymerase chain reaction based detection using coat protein gene specific primers for the three viruses revealed the presence of CMV and ChiVMV in all the four states whereas ChiLCV was recorded only in one location from Assam. In two of the samples collected for CMV and ChiVMV, mixed infection of the two viruses was confirmed. Based on molecular method based detection, the incidence of CMV infection in King chilli among all the samples tested for the virus was 32.5% whereas it was 25.97% for ChiVMV.

Influence of indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus and bacterial bioinoculants on growth and yield ofCapsicum chinensecultivated in non-sterilized soil

AbstractDespite the global importance ofCapsicumspecies, there is limited information on the indigenous endomycorrhizal fungal association in this crop. Therefore, the diversity and colonization patterns of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in roots of Naga King chilli (Capsicum chinense) were assessed during pre-flowering, flowering and fruit ripening growth stages under a sub-tropical shifting cultivation system of North Eastern India. All the roots examined had AMF colonization and the presence ofParis-type arbuscular mycorrhizal morphology is reported for the first time inC. chinense. A total of 11 AMF spore morphotypes were isolated from both field and trap culture soils. Maximum AMF spore density and root colonization were recorded during the pre-flowering and flowering stages, respectively. The influence ofFunneliformis geosporum, individually or in combination withPseudomonas fluorescensandAzotobacter chroococcum, on growth and yield ofC. chinense, was evaluated in a pot experiment using sterilized and non-sterilized soils. The application of AMF andP. fluorescensto sterilized soil significantly increased the growth, flower and fruit production, and nutrient content ofC. chinense. The highest growth rates and yields ofC. chinensein non-sterilized soils were achieved when AMF was combined with bothP. fluorescensandA. chroococcum. The results of the current study indicate the value of applying microorganisms to improve plant growth and performance in chillies. One of the mechanisms for this could be the facilitated assimilation of nutrients promoted by AMF and bacterial bioinoculants.

Genetic diversity of Chilli veinal mottle virus infecting different chilli landraces in North East India indicates the possibility of transboundary movement of virus.

Diverse chilli genetic resources of North East India occupy a unique niche in the Nation's chilli gene pool. Widely cultivated chilli landraces (King chilli: Capsicum chinense, bird eye chilli: Capsicum frutescens and Capsicum annuum) of North East India in general and Manipur in particular suffer from decline complex due to high incidence of viral diseases. With this background and the known prominent distribution of Chilli veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV) in Asian region, we studied its prevalence and association with diverse symptoms of chilli landraces. Molecular indexing of samples from 40 chilli plantation groves of Manipur using reverse transcription (RT)-PCR targeting the coat protein (CP) region of ChiVMV genome revealed a high incidence and wide prevalence. Out of a total of 127 chilli samples collected from different groves of Manipur, 81 chilli samples (63.78%) were positive for ChiVMV. Interestingly, ChiVMV infection rate was comparatively higher in the hilly groves (69.23% samples positive) compared to the valley groves (60% samples positive). Present study through the extensive surveys and molecular indexing work, conclusively reported the association of ChiVMV with diverse symptoms like cupping of leaf lamina with mottling, vein banding and puckering in different chilli landraces. Further, five representative ChiVMV isolates sampled from different groves of Manipur upon mechanical inoculation showed significant variation in symptom expression, indicating wide pathogenic diversity among them. Partial coat protein (CP) sequence analysis of five ChiVMV isolates from Manipur although indicated genetic homogeneity among them, but distinctiveness from ChiVMV isolates reported from the other parts of India. Phylogenetic clustering of ChiVMV isolates from Manipur near Chinese isolates rather than other Indian isolates suggested the possibility of transboundary movement.

Morphological and molecular characterization of two distinct chilli cultivars from North Eastern India with special reference to pungency related genes

Abstract King chilli and Dalle Khursani are the two hottest chilli (Capsicum sp.) cultivars widely grown in NE region of India but a well-organized study pertaining to King chilli and Dalle Khursani is unavailable. We have characterized twenty-two accessions of King chilli and Dalle Khursani, collected from different states of NE region with respect to 27 morphological parameters and using 30 SSR markers. The allelic status of three key pungency related genes viz, putative aminotransferase (pAmt or Pun1), acyl-CoA synthetase (Acs1) and β-ketoacyl-ACP synthase (Kas1) was also determined. Maximum morphological variation was observed for fruit traits and traits like plant growth habit, plant height, etc., which can be used to distinguish between the two cultivars. SSR markers HpmsE062 and HpmsE063 were able to distinguish between the three different cultivars (including a nonpungent bell pepper), while HpmsE116 and HpmsE139 distinguish King chilli from Dalle Khursani. Ward clustering method grouped all the eleven Dalle Khursani accessions together with non-pungent C. annuum accession in one cluster. Sequencing across Acs1 revealed total of eight SNPs and three InDels. Seven SNPs including three within exonic regions were conserved between bell pepper, Dalle Khursani and the reference pungent C. annuum accession. A 2 bp InDel at position 50–51 bp and a 3 bp InDel at position 6313–6315 bp were found to be uniquely conserved haplotypes in both Dalle Khursani and King Chilli. A total of 16 SNPs were found within the sequenced region of Pun1 gene, of which eight SNPs lie within the coding region. Three novel exonic SNPs were found in Dalle Khursani. All eight SNPs found in the intronic region for Pun1 were conserved across Dalle Khursani and the two pungent reference sequences of C. annuum. Our SSR and SNP data suggests that Dalle Khursani is genetically closer to pungent C. annuum. This work provides insights into the genotype of two hottest chillies and paves way for their utilization in chilli improvement programme.

Studies on yield and economics of high value vegetable crops grown under low-cost polyhouse in the mid-hill conditions of Meghalaya

An experiment was conducted under naturally ventilated low-cost polyhouse during 2011–2013. The highest yield of tomato was recorded from cultivar Megha Tomato 3 (3.05 kg/plant), capsicum hybrid Pusa Deepti (0.88 kg/plant), chilli hybrid Fungale (0.99 kg/plant), King chilli genotype Red Long (0.98 kg/plant) and cucumber genotype, RCC 2 (4.28 kg/plant). From the economic analysis of cropping sequences, the highest per annum net income (19, 02, 043.4/ha) was recorded from the tomato (Megha Tomato 3)-capsicum (Pusa Deepti) followed by 18, 10, 082.0/ha from King chilli sole cropping and 15, 60, 163.4/ha from tomato (variety Megha Tomato 3)-chilli (hybrid Fungale) cropping sequence. However, the highest BC ratio (4.2) was observed from the King chilli sole cropping followed by tomato-capsicum cropping sequence (3.5). In all the crops, over 50% of the total cost of production was contributed by cost of polyhouse followed by operational cost. The farmers of the region can increase their income by adopting the above identified most economical crops, varieties and cropping sequences.