Vegetables are important sources of carbohydrates, proteins vitamins, and minerals.
Bell peppers, the fruit of Capsicum annuum L. is one of the most important commercial crops
in India. With an annual production of 1.1 million tones, India is the largest producer of chilli
in the world (Khan and Raj, 2006). Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) which belongs to
Solananceae, is known as a vegetable, and consumed both as fresh and dehydrated spices
(Bosland and Vostava, 2000). Owing to its high cash value and consumption rate the annual
trade of chilli is approximately 17 % of total spice trade in the world (Ahmed et al., 2000)
and is about 33 % in India. However, the yield of chilli in India is substantially low when the
large area (930,000 hectares) of production is considered (Bharathi et al., 2004). Capsicum is
the most commonly cultivated species and all green chillies in the market and most of the dry
chilies belong to this species. Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) is an important tropical and
subtropical crop on the basis of its high consumption, nutritional and cash value to farmers and
consumers both in developed and developing countries, particularly in India.