Genetic Study of Horticultural Traits in Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum var. grossum) Through Generation Mean Analysis

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out at CSK HPKV, Palampur (Himachal Pradesh, India), to study gene action for important horticultural traits in bell pepper and to develop desirable breeding material from the segregating generations. In this study six generations (P1, P2, F1, F2, B1 and B2) of four crosses, viz, EC-464107 9 Kandaghat Selection (C1), EC-464115 9 Kandaghat Selection (C2), EC-464107 9 EC-464115 (C3) and EC-464107 9 Sweet Happy-I (C4), were evaluated. The results of the scaling tests revealed that additive-dominance model was inadequate in all the crosses for all the traits studied. For total fruits per plant, the magnitude of dominance [h] gene effects and additive 9 additive [i] gene interactions were positive and higher coupled with duplicate epistasis in the crosses C1, C2 and C4. This suggested the exploitation of heterosis breeding as well as the selection of desirable segregants through the pedigree method in these crosses. For total fruit yield per plant, all the four cross combinations revealed positive and relatively higher magnitude of dominance [h] gene effects along with complementary gene action in the cross C3 and duplicate type of epistasis (but low magnitude) in the cross C4. This suggested the usefulness of exploiting hybrid vigor in these crosses. Studies on the extent of heterosis suggested that the F1 hybrid EC-464107 9 SH-I (C4) was the most consistent for earliness, while the cross EC-464107 9 KS (C1) was more reliable for high fruit yield and can further be evaluated for yield and quality traits as well as resistance to bacterial wilt.