*2.1.2 Climatic condition*

During the growing season, the amount and intensity of light significantly influence the amount of vitamin C formed. Vitamin C is synthesized from sugars supplied through photosynthesis in plants. Outside fruit exposed to maximum sunlight contains more vitamin C than inside and shaded fruit on the same plant. It was observed that grapefruits grown in coastal California generally contain more vitamin C than fruit grown in desert areas.

### *2.1.3 Cultural practices*

Plant growth is generally enhanced by Nitrogen fertilizer, so a relative dilution effect may occur in the plant tissues [23]. More so, cultural practices like pruning and thinning determine the crop load and fruit size, which can influence the nutritional composition of fruits. Using pesticides and growth regulators may indirectly affect the nutritional quality of fruit. The application of gibberellins was beneficial to green tea quality, increasing vitamin C content by 18%. Excess use of Nitrogen fertilizer increases the concentration of N03 and simultaneously decreases that of AA. It may have a double negative effect on the quality of plant food [27, 28]. Although vitamin C concentration is positively correlated with the nitrogen supply in butter-head lettuce, it is inversely correlated with the Nitrogen supply in white cabbage and crisp-head lettuce [29–32].

### *2.1.4 Temperature*

Temperature is critical in extending shelf life and maintaining the quality of fresh pepper fruit. Prolonged keeping of fruits after harvesting and cooling or processing can result in direct loss due to water loss and decay; indirect losses can also occur, such as flavor and deterioration in nutritional quality. The temperature range and the extent of vitamin C loss depended on the type of fruit. Wu found that vitamin C reduced quickly in green beans kept at 5°C after three days but retains stability in broccoli [33, 34]. Esteve showed that vitamin C concentration in harvested fresh green asparagus stored at 4°C increased after two days [35].
