EVALUATION OF CRAB CHITOSAN ON EMERGENCE AND SEEDLING PERFORMANCE OF CAPSICUM ANNUM L. CAYENNE PEPPER INFECTED WITH FUSARIUM GRAMINEARUM

Cayenne pepper (Capsicum annum L) belongs to the Nightshade family (Solanaceae) that are capsaicin rich, these plants have been cultivated for such a long time and peppers from them differ widely from one another in size, shape, and potency. They are not true peppers but were misnamed by the early Spanish explorers who confused their pungency with the pepper they were used to, namely black pepper piper nigrum in the Piperaceae family. (Choorit et al., 2008 and Oh et al., 2008). The Capsicums ancient natives of the tropical Americas. The oldest known specimens were discovered in Mexico from seeds found on the floors of caves and in ancient fossil feces. From these samples, scientists were able to conclude that these people were eating peppers as far back as 7000 BC. They also believe that hot peppers were cultivated between 5200 and 3400 BC, making the capsicum peppers one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. Chili is the Aztec name for Cayenne pepper. In 1548, Cayenne was introduced into Britain from India, then known as Ginnie or Guinea pepper because of its cultivation prevalence in this locale.