Pimenta ‘biquinho’: aspectos agronômicos, qualidade de sementes e processamento

Abstract

The peppers of the' Biquinho' varietal group belong to the species Capsicum chinense. Its indeterminate growth, with continuous flowering and fruiting, results in uneven fruit and seed development. Since the 'Biquinho' pepper is widely consumed due to its aroma, crispness and absence of pungency, the process of dehydrating the fruits and the formulation of sauces and / or jams add value to the product, in addition to allowing its storage for a longer time. Different systems conventional and agroecological can be field or in pots. The objective of this study was to evaluate the agronomic aspects, as well as the quality of the 'Biquinho' pepper seeds from different sources, produced under two cultivation systems. The treatments consisted of two cultivation systems (field and pot) and four materials from different companies. For both tests, the treatments were distributed in a randomized block design, with four replications and useful plots containing eight plants in the field agroecological system and four plants in the pot system. The best responses to agronomic characteristics are obtained from seeds of origins 1 and 2, in an agroecological field cultivation system. Seeds extracted from fruits produced in the two cultivation systems and provenances studied have good physiological quality. In the second chapter, the objective was to evaluate the agronomic performance of 'Biquinho' pepper, as well as the quality of the seeds produced under two cultivation systems and harvested at different times of the production cycle. The best responses to agronomic characteristics are observed in the 1st harvest of the productive cycle in an agroecological system in the field. The 2nd harvest season results in better fruit quality, regardless of the cultivation system. For the quality of the seeds, the agroecological cultivation system in the field, presents favorable results in any harvest season. In the pot system, the 2nd harvest season favors the production of seeds of better physiological quality. In this way, the third and last chapter, aimed to characterize physically and chemically the fruits of fresh and dehydrated red and yellow ‘Biquinho’ peppers, as well as their application in different chutney formulations, without added sugar.