Byadgi

Byadgi is a famous Karnataka chilli named after Byadgi town in Haveri district. Official sources describe it as a long, thin, bright red chilli with wrinkled pods, strong aroma, mild pungency, and very high colour value, commonly around 150,000 to 250,000 colour units or about 80 to 130 ASTA. Plants are typically around 1.0 m tall and 1.0 m wide, branching, with average fruits around 12.0 to 15.0 cm long.

The cultural and commercial identity of Byadgi is very strong. Official GI and processing sources describe it as a major chilli of Karnataka and note that Byadgi became one of India’s important chilli trading centres. In use, it is valued more for colour and aroma than for intense heat. It is widely used as ground spice powder, and its oleoresin is important in food, confectionery, beverage, pharmaceutical, feed, textile, and cosmetic industries. Official sources also note its role as a natural red colouring agent and as an international substitute for paprika oleoresin.

Two main recognised Byadgi forms appear in official material: Byadgi Kaddi and Byadgi Dabbi. Kaddi is generally the longer, more slender form, usually about 10.0 to 15.0 cm, with very low pungency and especially high colour value. Dabbi is shorter and more swollen near the calyx, usually about 8.0 to 10.0 cm, and is used for both green and dry chilli purposes. Later processing references also mention a Dyavanur Delux variant selected from the Dabbi side, showing that Byadgi is not one perfectly uniform line but a regional chilli group with recognised internal types.

The main inconsistency online is heat wording. Some sources casually describe Byadgi as having negligible pungency, while official processing material gives it a measurable range of about 8,000 to 15,000 SHU. That makes sense in context because Byadgi is repeatedly valued for colour, aroma, and flavour before heat, and because the Kaddi and Dabbi forms are not identical. Official GI material also notes that many variants are seen in the small Byadgi region and that farmers traditionally saved seed from superior genotypes.

Historically, the GI filing says the exact start of cultivation in the Byadgi area is unclear, but local folk history places chilli cultivation there at about 200 years ago. Byadgi later received GI protection in February 2011.