Evaluation of CGMS-based chilli F1 hybrids for morphometric, fruit quality and yield traits

Abstract

Chilli is a significant vegetable cum spice crop having broader applications in the food, phytogenic feed,cosmeceutical and pharmaceutical industries. To meet the demand, there is a need to develop F1 hybrids withtolerance/ resistance to major threatening diseases and higher yields. The present investigation was conductedto study the diversity of morphometric, fruit quality and yield traits and their reaction to chilli leaf curl diseaseamong thirteen CGMS-based high-yielding F1 hybrids. The hybrids Arka Nihira, Arka Yashasvi, H-25, H-26, andArka Tanvi excelled for most of the traits contributing to yield enhancement. The yield increment potential inthese hybrids is attributed to high morphometric and fruit biometric. In relation to the local check (HPH-3351),hybrid Arka Nihira exhibited enhanced green fruit yield by about sixty-two per cent. The cluster plot partitionedthese hybrids into four primary groups, revealing genetic similarities and differences among the hybrids. Further,a character association study indicates that traits such as days to 50 per cent flowering, plant spread, fruitgirth, and the number of fruits per plant can be leveraged as indirect selection indices for green fruit yield whileselecting a commercial hybrid cultivar in chilli breeding programs. The hybrids, Arka Nihira and Arka Tanvi, inparticular, have the potential to be commercial cultivars in terms of yield, agronomic characteristics, and leafcurl disease tolerance in shallow basaltic soils of the Deccan plateau of Indi