Macro- and micronutrient content in selected cultivars of Capsicum annuum L. depending on fruit coloration

Capsicum annuum L. belongs to the Solanaceae family and is a species of huge economic importance and high nutritional value. A study conducted in the years 2014-2015 at the Department of Horticulture, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, assessed the content of macro- and micronutrients in the fruit of selected Polish and Bulgarian cultivars of pepper collected at different stages of coloration development. The investigation included five Polish cultivars: Roberta, Marta Polka, Etiuda, Trapez and Cyklon and five Bulgarian cultivars: Bulgarski Ratung, Sivriya, Kurtovska Kapiya, Delikates and Dzuliunska Shipka. The study demonstrated a significant effect of cultivar and a degree of fruit coloration on the content of dry matter and macro- and micronutrients. The coloured fruits featured higher content of dry matter than the green ones and cv. Etiuda had the greatest dry matter. Green fruits contained more Mg, Mn and Zn, while the coloured ones more Ca and Fe. Cvs. Delikates and Dzuliunska Shipka were particularly rich in Mg and K, cv. Sivriya in Ca and cv. Etiuda in P, Cu, Zn and Mn were the most abundant in cv. Delikates, Fe in cv. Trapez, and Na in cv. Cyklon.