» Byadgi (Paprika)

Byadgi (Paprika) chilly is the famous variety of chilly. The business involving Byadgi chilly has the second largest turnover among all chilly varieties of India. Oleoresin extracted from these chillies is used in the preparation of nail polish and lipsticks. Byadgi chilli is also known for its deep red color and is less spicy and is used in many food preparations of South India.

Byadgi is also known as Kaddi (stick-like) chillies.Byadagi Chilly plants begin flowering 40 days after transplantation although the majority of flowers bloom 60 to 80 days after transplanting. The chilly pods are harvested from January to May. The annual production of Byadgi Chilly is around 21,000 kg. The quality of chilly varieties is measured in terms of the extractable red color pigment; this color is measured in ASTA color units. Byadgi Chilly has an ASTA color value of 156.9. The higher the ASTA color unit, the better the quality of chilly and therefore the higher the price. The Byadgi chilly has negligible capsaicin content making it less pungent than other chilly varieties.

Earlier Byadgi Chilly was grown mainly for the purpose of using it in food items as a spicy ingredient but recently, it has also been grown for the extraction of oleoresin, a red oil from the pods. Oleoresin is used in the preparation of nail polish and lipsticks. The extraction of oleoresin has also led to the creation of cold storage units in Byadgi since the chilly pods have to be maintained at a low temperature of 4 to 6 degree Celsius in order to maintain the color and purity. Storing in cold storage units also increases the amount of oleoresin extracted from chilly by about 30-40%. About 50 liters of oleoresin can be extracted from about 1 ton of Byadgi chilly.