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The societal pressure for more sustainable agricultural practices drives interest in organic farming, especially within family agriculture, although it has not yet reached the efficacy of traditional agriculture. Effective Microorganisms (EM) hold promise as supplements to organic fertilization, as they accelerate organic matter decomposition and enhance nutrient availability for plants. This study investigated the impact of two types of EM collected in Alegre and Barra de São Francisco, Espírito Santo State, on pepper cultivation, comparing them with commercial EM and standard organic fertilization. Parameters such as plant height, stem diameter, number and mass of fruits, and microbial composition were analyzed. The Alegre EM stood out, yielding better growth and production metrics. The Barra de São Francisco EM also had a positive impact, particularly on fresh aerial part mass and height. Microbiological analysis revealed differences in microbial communities among the EM. It is concluded that the use of EM in conjunction with organic fertilization can benefit pepper cultivation.

Capsaicinoids are natural compounds characteristic of peppers that condition their spicy flavor. The fruits are widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries as they have anticancer, antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Extracts are normally obtained using organic solvents as they are efficient in transporting bioactives such as capsaicin. Therefore, the present work aimed to extract and quantify the capsaicinoids found in fruits and seeds of pepper accessions of the genus Capsicum from the active germplasm bank of the Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo. The extraction process was carried out using 99.8% P.A. ethanol as solvent using Soxhlet equipment, and for quantification of capsaicin a UV-Vis spectrophotometer was used at 280 nm. The oleoresin yield was 33% in relation to the dry pepper mass. To determine the amount of capsaicin in the sample, a calibration curve was constructed with the standard ~95%. The concentrations of capsaicins in the extracts were found in the ranges of 97.81 and 419.79 mg. g-1. The analysis of variance presented a coefficient of variance of 0.3%, which means that no difference occurred at 5% significance using the Tukey test. The samples of the Ifes 100 and Ifes 71 accessions, of the species Capsicum baccatum var. pendulum and Capsicum frutescens, respectively, with the highest amounts of capsaicins per mass of extract and the accessions Ifes 56 and Ifes 62 presented the lowest amounts of capsaicin, both corresponding to the species Capsicum chinense. The Soxhlet extraction method, with organic solvent ethanol, was efficient in transporting capsaicinoid compounds, presenting a yield of around 33% in the formation of oleoresin. The process of quantifying capsaicinoid compounds proved to be efficient, identifying the presence of the active capsaicin in the accesses analyzed, identifying genotypes of interest to be explored in crop improvement.