Floral Biology and Pollination of Red Hot F1 Hybrid Hot Pepper (Capsicum frutescens x C. annuum) in the Philippines

Abstract

The floral biology and pollination of Red Hot F1 variety hot pepper, Capsicum frutescens x C. annuum, were studied in this paper. Its flowers are herkogamous and inodorous, and the pollen and nectar serve as rewards to visitors. Anthesis occurred during morning, from 0600 h to 1000 h and peaked on the second day. The pollen grains are simple and numerous with high viability, 96 ± 1.06%. Receptivity of stigma synchronized with pollen viability. This hot pepper variety is partially protogynous. The asynchronous flowering, dichogamy, and herkogamy in hot pepper are their adaptive strategies to promote outcrossing and for reproductive assurance. Four insect species visited the flowers but only the carpenter bee, Xylocopa sp., and the stingless bee, Tetragonula biroi (Friese), are the true pollinators. The foraging activity, which peaked at 0900 h, synchronized with anthesis. Fruit set in an open-pollinated (87 ± 13.12%) and hand-pollinated plants (84 ± 19.37%) were significantly higher than in the control (26 ± 14.30%). Open-pollinated plants produced fruits and seeds with significantly higher quantity and quality.