First report of Stemphylium lycopersici associated with leaf spot disease of Capsicum annum var. grossum Sendt. in India

Characterisation of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum Sendt.) accessions for genetic diversity and population structure based on agro-morphological and microsatellite markers

Investigation on effect of organic fertigation on growth and yield of bell pepper ( Capsicum annuum var. grossum Sendt.) was carried out at vegetable unit, Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu, during 2016-2017. There were nine treatment combinations including organic manures viz ., farm yard manure, vermicompost, bio-stimulants (Humic acid and Sea weed extract) and organic fertigation with Neem cake (two levels viz ., 1:20 and 1:40 dilution). Among the nine treatments, the treatment T 7 (Humic acid granules @ 5g plant -1 + fertigation with Neem cake 1:20) exhibited the highest yield of 580.18 g plant -1 , and it was followed T 1 (RDF 250 :150:150 kg NPK ha -1 ) with 561.5 g plant -1 . However, the lowest yield was recorded under T 8 (FYM @125 g plant -1 + fertigation with Neem cake 1:40) with 319.6 g plant -1 . Among the nine treatments, the per se effect of organic basal supplements derived from the treatment combinations revealed the superiority of humic acid over other organic supplements.

Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. Grossum Sendt.) crop is sensitive to frost and high temperature. High temperature above 35°C during April-May in northern plains of India causes poor fruit and seed set under open conditions. The present study was carried out during winter (rabi) seasons of 2019–20 and 2020–21 at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab to analyze the seed production potential of the bell pepper variety PSM-1 under protected and open conditions. The investigation was laid out in a split-plot design (SPD) with main plot of two environments [polyhouse (E1) and low tunnel (E2)] and subplots of three different transplanting dates [the second week of November (D1), December (D2) and February (D3)]. Being thermosensitive in nature, protected cultivation resulted in the production of significantly larger bell pepper fruits with concomitant enhancement in seed quality. Despite the initial high monetary investment, polyhouses proved to be more conducive for bell pepper growth, fruit, and seed production among protected structures, resulting in a higher yield and improved quality of fruits and seeds. November transplanted crop in the polyhouse took the highest number of days to flower initiation and fruit harvest consuming the highest heat units, resulting in the better plant growth, seed quality and yield contributing traits, viz. number of fruits/plant, fruit yield/ plant, average fruit weight, seed weight/fruit, 1000-seed weight, seed yield, germination and SVI-I providing maximum net returns to the farmers. For low tunnel cultivation setting, December transplanted plants recorded the best performance in terms of plant growth, seed yield and seed quality traits.

The present study was carried out during summer and rainy (kharif) seasons of 2019 and 2020 at the research farm of Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh to study the genetic diversity among 43 bacterial wilt tolerant genotypes of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum Sendt), focusing on 12 quantitative and 3 qualitative traits along with disease resistance. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications. Following hierarchical cluster analysis, the 43 unique genotypes were categorized into 5 separate clusters. Cluster I consisted of maximum number of genotypes (39), followed by clusters II, III, IV and V, each having only one genotype. The greatest inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster II and V (3090.70), while the smallest distance was noted between cluster II and III (1299.21). Cluster I displayed the greatest intra-cluster distance (803.75), while clusters II, III, IV and V showed the lowest distances (0.00). The primary contributors to genetic divergence were found to be capsanthin content (23.4%), followed by ascorbic acid (21.4%), fruit length (12.5%), plant survival (11.1%) and marketable fruit yield/plant (10.9%). Principal component analysis indicated that the initial six principal components, each possessing an eigen value surpassing one, jointly accounted for 70.62% of the total observed variability. PCA biplot revealed that, the traits namely, marketable fruits/plant, average fruit weight, harvest duration and plant height were the major yield contributing traits. The results underscored the importance of genetic characterization and the selection of diverse genotypes for hybridization, facilitating the development of improved bell pepper cultivars with enhanced productivity and quality.

The genetic nature of low capsaicin content in variant strains induced by grafting was elucidated by crossing the G5S23 strain with the two cultivars, ‘Yatsubusa’ (Capsicum annuum L. var. fasciculatum Ilish) and ‘Spanish Paprika’ (C. annuum L. grossum Sendt) originally used for grafting. Decreased capsaicin synthesis was a stable characteristic for at least several generations from G5S16 to G5S23 and was transmitted to the progenies of crosses. This fact shows that the decreased capsaicin synthesis is a genetic trait in the graft-induced variant strains. The genetically dependent characteristic of pungency of the G5S23, ‘Yatsubusa’ and ‘Spanish Paprika’ were analysed by High Perfomance Liquid Chromatography measurement and tasting assay.

An experiment conducted during Rabi 2019-20 at the College of Agriculture, Jodhpur (Rajasthan), aimed to identify superior cultivars of sweet pepper (Capsicum annum L. Grossum Sendt.) with regards to yield, quality, and economic viability. The study included 20 sweet pepper cultivars and employed a randomized block design with three replications. Among the cultivars, ‘Pusa Deepti’ exhibited the tallest plant height (77.4 cm), highest number of leaves per plant (75.4), and greatest number of branches per plant (23.1) at 120 days after transplanting (DAT). Additionally, ‘Pusa Deepti’ also produced the longest fruits (9.73 cm) and highest number of fruits per plant (19.5), while ‘Orobelle’ displayed the widest fruit diameter (6.01 cm). The cultivar ‘Indra’ achieved 50% flowering in shortest duration of 68.0 days, while recording the maximum fruit weight (75.1 g), fruit yield plant-1 (1.34 kg), and fruit yield 1000 m-2 (4.88 tonnes). Conversely, ‘Orobelle’ exhibited the longest crop duration (221 days). In terms of quality attributes, ‘Arka Gaurav’ showcased the highest ascorbic acid content (169 mg 100 g-1) and total soluble solids content (7.5%), whereas ‘Indra’ displayed the longest shelf-life (8.6 days). Furthermore, ‘Indra’ demonstrated the highest net returns (Rs. 104666) and benefit-to-cost ratio (2.51) per 1000 m-2 area. The study underscores the importance of selecting appropriate cultivars of sweet pepper such as ‘Indra’ and ‘Pusa Deepti’ in western Rajasthan to avoid potential losses in sweet pepper cultivation with low yielding unsuitable cultivars.

ABSTRACTBell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum Sendt.) production is often constrained by prevailing sub-optimal temperature conditions. The treatments that enhance earliness and extend availability period may substantially increase value of the crop. This two-year study (2010–11 and 2011–12) was conducted to investigate the comparative effect of two growing environments (open field vs. polyhouse), three planting dates (15 October, 30 October, and 15 November), and four mulch treatments (black polythene, clear polythene, paddy straw, and no-mulch) on growth and yield of bell pepper. The highest fruit number, fruit weight, early yield, marketable yield, and total yield were obtained when the crop was planted in the polyhouse on 30 October under black polythene mulch. Thus, the use of polyhouse and black plastic mulch, when combined with appropriate planting date, improves early and total yields of bell pepper in areas where the production is constrained by sub-optimal temperature conditions.

The genetic nature of bacterial wilt resistance was studied in bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum Sendt.) plants using the P1, P2, F1, F2 and backcross generations obtained from four crosses between four parental lines, viz, EC 464107, EC 464115, Kandaghat Selection and Sweet Happy I considered as standards for resistance and/or susceptibility. The evaluation trial was conducted in bacterial wilt sick plots along with two susceptible checks, namely Indira (Hybrid) and California Wonder (Open-pollinated variety) that were included after every 15th row to ensure uniform distribution of inoculum in the experimental fields. Simultaneously, in a separate block, the parents and their F1’s were also evaluated for twelve different horticultural traits. The findings revealed that bacterial wilt resistance was governed by a single dominant gene in the cross EC 464107 × Sweet Happy I, whereas two genes with dominant and recessive epistasis dictated resistance in the crosses EC 464107 × Kandaghat Selection and EC 464115 × Kandaghat Selection, respectively. Based upon the mean performance, the hybrid EC 464107 × Kandaghat Selection was the best in terms of total and marketable fruit yield, fruits per plant and fruit length, which underscores its importance to be exploited, especially during wet season. In addition, the resistant parents EC 464107 and EC 464115 can be used to develop bacterial wilt resistant F1 hybrids as they expressed complete or near complete dominance for resistance in combination with the moderately resistant and susceptible varieties Kandaghat Selection and Sweet Happy I. Backcrossing with commercial cultivars and recombinant breeding accompanied by selection would also help to evolve bacterial wilt disease resistant, high yielding and horticulturally desirable pure line varieties.

Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum Sendt.) a member of Solanaceae family, commonly known as “Sweet pepper ” or “Capsicum ” or “Shimla mirch ” has attained a status of high value crop among vegetables in India because of its delicacy and pleasant flavor besides being rich in fatty acids, flavanoids, volatile oil and carotene. Out of total six bioagent tested under in vitro condition, Trichoderma harzianum (SMA-5) and Trichoderma sp. (AF2) were observed as potential bioagents which inhibited the mycelial growth upto 84.7 per cent. Studies on different methods of application of bioagent revealed that drenching was effective in controlling disease (61.1%). In vitro evaluation of fungicides revealed that out of seven fungicides tested, Ridomil MZ and Moximate @ 100 μg/ml were highly fungitoxic as compare to other fungicides. Under pot experiments, Ridomil MZ and Moximate @ 0.25 per cent were found highly effective in managing root rot disease upto 64.7 and 59.0 per cent, respectively. Integrated application of Trichoderma sp. (PF2) with Ridomil MZ (1.75g/l) was found most effective in the management of Phytophthora root rot of bell pepper under polyhouse conditions.

Capsicum or bell pepper, botanically known as Capsicum annuum L var. grossum Sendt, is a member of family Solanaceae. It originated in Brazil in Tropical South America. Most peppers are bell-shaped; therefore, the name bell pepper is common. Bell pepper is sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as “sweet pepper”. However, sweet peppers come in a range of shapes from round to oblong to taper.

The yield and quality of capsicum fruit is affected by plant training system due to the number of branches and fruit retained. More branches on a plant result in nutritional imbalance in fruit, lowering yield and fruit quality. Developing an appropriate plant training system for bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum Sendt.) under protected structures may help obtain the highest yield. A two-year (2018–2019, 2019–2020) study was undertaken to monitor the performance of bell pepper (green = “Indra,” red = “Inspiration,” and yellow = “Bachata”) cultivated in a naturally ventilated polyhouse as affected by training systems (T1 = un-trained, T2 = two-shoot, T3 = three-shoot and T4 = four-shoot). A benefit-cost analysis was also included. Among training systems, T1 had taller plants, larger and heavier fruit, thicker rinds and longer self-life, but fewer fruit; T4 had the highest yield of 3.54, 2.66 and 2.93 kg/plant for “Indra,” “Inspiration” and “Bachata,” respectively. Among cultivars, “Indra” had the tallest plants, longest shelf-life, and “Bachata” had the earliest flowering and thickest rind. The cost:benefit values for T4 and T2 were 1.31–1.1.55 and 1.39–1.61, respectively, indicating economic viability.

Capsicum (Capsicum annuum L var. grossum Sendt) commonly known as bell pepper or sweet pepper, is one of the most economical agricultural crop grown under both open and polyhouse conditions. The presence of Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) from different districts of Himachal Pradesh was confirmed by double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) and RT-PCR using coat protein (CP) gene amplification. The first complete genome sequence of Indian isolate of PMMoV (HP-1) was elucidated and compared with other members of Virgaviridae family and PMMoV isolates. Sequence homology, multiple alignment and phylogenetic analysis on the basis of nucleotide and amino acid sequences showed that PMMoV-HP1 isolate is more closely related to the PMMoV-J, the Japanese isolate. Based on CP gene amino acid sequence analysis, the PMMoV-HP1 isolate showed 100 per cent identity with P12 pathotypes (capable of breaking L 2 gene mediated resistance in capsicum). This is the first report of the PMMoV complete genome organization intercepted in India.

During the 2015-2016 periods in the frame of the experimental field of RDIVFG VIDRA, 5 round pepper lines, created at the Plant Breeding Department of the Institute were investigated under comparative plots for evaluation. As control the green pepper variety Galben superior was used. Several observations and morphological determinations were carried out aiming the following characteristics: total yield, number of fruits per plant, their shape and color. By comparison of the data regarding the total yield of the green pepper lines under investigation (average of the 2015-2016 period) one could notice that all the 5 lines assured a higher total yield to the control variety Galben superior. The values for total yield ranged between 51.8 t/ha and 52.5 t/ha, by comparison with control variety Galben superior that gave 31.5 t/ha. The results emphasized that the best behaviour had the lines L45 by comparison with the control variety.

Bell pepper is commonly produced in protected conditions with constraints. To study alternatives to shaded structures, this experiment was conducted at the Instructional Farm, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, during the rabi season of 2022-23 with two growing environments, i.e., arecanut shade (G1) and open field (G2) (as factor A), while five varieties—California Wonder (V1), Pusa Capsicum - 1 (KTPC -1) (V2), VLCP 2016-57 (V3), KTOC -1 (V4), and KTYC - 17 (V5)—were taken as factor B, laid out in a factorial randomized block design with three replications. Following comparable agronomic techniques in G1 and G2, growth, yield, and quality metrics were measured for the five varieties. The results substantiated that shade had a positive influence on bell pepper, as most parameters—such as plant height (26.32 cm, 36.96 cm, and 63.17 cm at 30, 60, and 90 DAT, respectively); internode length (2.72 cm, 4.61 cm, and 6.58 cm at 30, 60, and 90 DAT, respectively); days to first flowering (53.78 DAT); number of flowers per plant (18.28); number of fruits per plant (10.37); fruit length (6.57 cm); fruit width (5.74 cm); pericarp thickness (4.75 mm); average fruit Regarding the varieties, California Wonder (V1) reported better results for a few parameters: days to first flowering (52.30 DAT), number of flowers per plant (19.75), and number of fruits per plant (10.55). However, for most yield-attributing parameters—such as fruit length (7.17 cm), pericarp thickness (4.68 mm), average fruit weight (98.00 g), and fruit yield per plant (0.81 g)—the variety KTOC- 1 (V4) outperformed. The efficient utilization of natural resources under arecanut shade may have favored bell pepper productivity. However, the variety KTOC-1 as an intercrop would be the most appropriate choice for the Terai region of West Bengal.

Knowledge of the magnitude of genetic variability for marketable fruit yield and quality traits, and relationships among these traits, is needed to improve quality breeding in bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum Sendt.). The study was undertaken to assess genetic variation for marketable fruit yield, fruits per plant, average fruit weight, pericarp thickness, number of lobes per fruit, TSS, and ascorbic acid and capsaicin contents and to quantify the relationship among these traits in diverse bell pepper germplasm. Significant difference among bell pepper genotypes indicated presence of significant variation for all the traits. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) indicated higher values than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all traits, indicating close association between phenotype and genotype. High heritability estimates along with high genetic advance was recorded for fruits per plant, marketable fruits per plant, pericarp thickness, and lobes per fruit, indicating the role of additive gene action for their inheritance. Days to 50% flowering, harvest duration, and ascorbic acid had high heritability estimates along with low genetic advance, indicating nonadditive gene activity, and these could be improved through hybridization. In general, genotypic correlations were higher than the corresponding phenotypic correlations, revealing inherent associations among traits. The maximum direct effect on fruit yield per plant was exhibited by fruit per plant followed by harvest duration, average fruit weight, and pericarp thickness, whereas marketable fruits per plant and days to 50% flowering had negative direct effects. This suggests that a selection procedure based on higher fruits per plant, harvest duration, and average fruit weight may be effective in improving fruit yield. Adequate genetic variability was present within available bell pepper germplasm to allow breeding improvement of marketable yield and quality traits.