Capsicum Annuum Var Research Articles

IDENTIFICATION OF BACTERIAL SPOT DISEASES ON PAPRIKA LEAVES USING CNN AND TRANSFER LEARNING

Paprika, often called bell peppers, is a plant with the Latin name Capsicum annuum var. gross. Paprika in Indonesia has a high selling value, so the opportunity for cultivating the paprika plant itself is enormous. However, the cultivation of this plant cannot be separated from the threat of disease that can affect the yield of paprika. Bacterial spot is one of them, and it is a disease that is very dangerous for paprika plants because the disease infects all parts of the plant. In this case, early detection is needed to carry out appropriate treatment to minimize the effects caused by bacterial spots. Detection of bacterial spots on paprika can be done by direct observation or conducting laboratory tests, but this requires people who have the appropriate knowledge and experience. Based on the above problems, the identification system can be an option in identifying bacterial spot disease in paprika. This research chose the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) algorithm in the identification system. Because CNN is one of the algorithms that can receive output in the form of an image which is very suitable for the case of bacterial spots on peppers, this research dataset is divided into healthy leaves and leaves infected with bacterial spots. In this study, the implementation of CNN with transfer learning obtained results from a test accuracy of 90%, training accuracy 97% with a loss of 8.5%, validation accuracy of 97.5% with a loss of 6.9%.

Seasonal phenology, shade reliance, and ecophysiology of wild Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum in Sonoran Desert

The phenological responses of Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum (Cag) plants were documented, tracking the seasonal climatic trend in the Sonoran Desert. Plants exhibited a relatively fast seasonal phenological transition in synchrony with fast shifts in solar radiation, air temperatures, relative humidity, and rainfalls. Plants developed under significant levels of shade throughout their phenological stages; however, the increase of sunlight penetration and rising air temperatures during the mid-winter period suggests an early photonic/thermal stimulation effect, which could drive the transition between dormancy and budburst. Early buds outbreak can occur in some individuals. First leaves development suggests a strategic phenological/ecophysiological transitional interruption can occur to cope with drought conditions during the spring period. During rainy summer-autumn plants fully grew either vegetative only or vegetative/reproductively. The CO2 assimilation curves in response to light suggest that plants are photosynthetically adapted to photonic flux in the low-intermediate range. Leave's diurnal gas exchange responded differentially under contrasting levels of sunlight, temperatures, and vapor pressure deficit, depending on the plant's phenological stage. Ecosystem-level dataset suggests that duration of air temperature thresholds and significant variation in precipitation peaks during seasons transition could drive subtle timeline shifts between succession/extension of phenological stages and consequently in the forest mass productivity.

Opportunities and Potential of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) production in Ethiopia

Hot pepper (Capsicum annuum var. L) is the most common Capsicum pepper in Ethiopia. It is growing in different agro ecological conditions leading to economically important variability for improvement. The objective of this review is to study the opportunities and potential of hot pepper production in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has the opportunities of hot pepper production like introduction of new varieties, suitable agro ecology, the expansion of infrastructure, access to foreign markets, and the expansion of technology like telecommunication. Production of hot pepper is limited in many factors like diseases incidence, lack of improved varieties, soil fertility and extension services. Generally, we conclude that Ethiopia has conducive environment for hot pepper production. In future government should have to take the responsibility to improve the production of hot pepper.

Identification of Pseudomonas viridiflava, causal agent of onion (Allium cepa L.) bulb rot

Objective: To phenotypically and molecularly characterize and identify the causal agent of onion (Allium cepaL.) bulb rot in Morelos, Mexico.Methodology: Fluorescent bacteria from onion bulb tissue with symptoms of rot were isolated; the LOPATtest was used to describe them and subsequently they were identified by partial 16S rRNA gene amplification.Pathogenicity in vegetables and plants was evaluated injecting a suspension with 108 CFU mL-1of the pathogen.Results: Phenotypic characterization and 16S rRNA nucleotide sequencing showed 100% identity withPseudomonas viridiflava as the causal agent of onion bulb rot. The pathogen caused infection in broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.), spring onion (Allium fistulosum L.), purple onion (Allium cepa L.), cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.), leek (Allium porrum L.), and carrot (Daucus carota L.), as well as in plant species such as jalapeño pepper (Capsicum annuum var. annuum L.), bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.).Implications: This information is important for agriculture in Mexico. Pseudomonas viridiflava is a bacterialpathogen with high potential to infect new hosts. This is the first report of P. viridiflava causing onion rot in Mexico.Conclusions: Pseudomonas viridiflava is the causal agent of onion bulb r

The Resistance of Seven Host Plants to Tetranychus merganser Boudreaux (Acari: Tetranychidae).

Simple SummaryThe red spider mite, Tetranychus merganser is one of the most economically important pests in papaya and prickle pear cactus cultivars, causing major damage to fruit and defoliation. In recent years, T. merganser has increased the number of its host plants. The mechanisms of resistance of a plant to herbivorous arthropod include antixenosis and antibiosis. Antixenosis refers to the plant mechanism to affect feeding and oviposition of arthropods; antibiosis refers to the plant capacity to affect the biology of the arthropod. The aim of this research is to assess antibiosis and antixenosis as resistance mechanisms in seven host plants (Thevetia ahouai, Carica papaya, Phaseolus vulgaris, Moringa oleifera, Pittosporum tobira, Helietta parvifolia, Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum) to red spider mites. Oviposition and damage by feeding of T. merganser were greater on C. papaya than on the other host plants. The population growth of the spider mite was lower in P. tobira and T. ahouai than in the other host plants. Results based on the analysis of demographic parameters, food intake, survival and oviposition of T. merganser females suggest that P. tobira and T. ahouai were the most resistant to red spider mites, whereas C. papaya was the most susceptible of the seven host plants. The resistant plants can be studied as alternatives in the management of red spider mites. Red spider mites, Tetranychus merganser Boudreaux (Acari: Tetranychidae), is an agricultural pest that causes economic losses in papaya and nopal crops in Mexico. The aim of this research was to assess antibiosis and antixenosis as resistance mechanisms in seven host plants (Thevetia ahouai, Carica papaya, Phaseolus vulgaris, Moringa oleifera, Pittosporum tobira, Helietta parvifolia, Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum) to red spider mites. Antixenosis was evaluated by non-preference for oviposition and feeding, antibiosis by infinitesimal rate of increase, finite rate of increase and doubling time, and the percentage of spider mites mortality. Oviposition and damage by feeding of T. merganser were significantly greater on C. papaya than on the other host plants. The growth rate of the spider mite was significantly lower in P. tobira and T. ahouai than in the other host plants. The percentage of hatched eggs of T. merganser was significantly higher in P. vulgaris than in the other plant species. Based on the demographic parameters, survival, food intake, and oviposition, these results indicated that compared with C. papaya, P. tobira and T. ahouai were more resistant. These results may be due to the fact that they were plants species of different families. The resistant plants can be studied as alternatives in the management of T. merganser.

Genetic control of qualitative and quantitative traits in bell pepper crosses involving varied fruit colors and shapes

ABSTRACT Genetic improvement of fruit color and shape of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum var. grossum Sendt.) have been constrained by lack of adequate information on genetic control of fruit physical-chemical characteristics at the physiologically mature stage. Inheritance pattern of fruit color and shape and the nature of gene action for quantitative traits at physiological maturity were studied in six genetic populations (P1, P2, F1, F2, BC1P1, BC2P2) generated from four crosses involving parents bearing different fruit color and shape. Duplicate recessive epistasis gene action was involved in the expression of fruit color in Red × Yellow cross. The segregation pattern of the crosses Red × Purple and Red × White indicated involvement of dominant and recessive epistasis, respectively. Fruit shape segregation of the cross Blocky × Elongate indicated recessive epistasis gene interaction. The inheritance pattern indicated that fruit color and shape in bell pepper were conditioned by two genes with either dominant or recessive epistatic action. The segregation pattern of test crosses revealed involvement of two loci; there is no linkage between the genes and their two alternative alleles on both the loci. Gene action of most of the quantitative characters in the crosses ‘C/4 × 8/4ʹ and ‘C/4 × BC CAP Yellow’ indicated predominance of non-additive gene action showing duplicate epistasis. Fruit color and shape were conditioned by two genes showing either dominant or recessive epistatic action, however, these two characters were not linked. Fruit physical and chemical traits could be improved following deferred selection through advancement of promising cross-combination.

Comparative susceptibility of commercial cultivars of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum var Grossum Sendt) to major insect pests in West Bengal

A field experiment was conducted at Barasat II Block, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal in two consecutive rabi seasons of 2017 and 2018 to study the relative susceptibility of different commercial cultivars of bell pepper to major insect pests infesting it. Ten recommended commercial cultivars of bell pepper viz Indra, Asha, Biotara, KSP 1070, Fiza, Lakshmi, Arya, Super Gold, Ayesha and Mahabharath were planted on 15 November each year to know their relative susceptibility to the major insect pests namely thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood), aphid (Aphis gossypii Glover, Myzus persicae Sulzer), whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius), fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera Hubner) and chilli mite (Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks). Pest population studies revealed that the varieties Indra, Asha, Biotara and Fiza were relatively less susceptible to all the major pests of bell pepper, whereas, Super Gold, Mahabharath, Ayesha and Arya were relatively more susceptible. The variety Indra resulted in less damage score (0.82) after 120 days of planting which resulted in enhancement of yield (15.97 tonnes/ha) and benefit-cost ratio (0.60). Coloured varieties of bell pepper were more vulnerable to pest infestation.

Combining ability and gene action analysis of some bacterial wilt resistant intraspecific hybrids of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum var. grossum)

Genetically diverse bell pepper cultivars and their 30 F1 hybrids were developed by means of diallel mating system including reciprocals. Variance analysis illustrated considerable disparity among newly developed bacterial wilt resistant hybrid lines for all the studied traits. General Combining ability (gca) effects were more pronounced than specific combining ability effects (sca). The gca effects were high with parents DPBWRC-6-1, EC-464107, EC-464115 and DPBWRC-39 for fruit yield and yield-enhancing traits. Further, reciprocal effects influenced all parameters except fruit width, TSS and lobes per fruit. Among the additive and non-additive genetic variance, the latter had a more significant influence on the inheritance of all studied characters except for fruit width and pericarp thickness. Based on sca analysis, three cross-combinations viz., DPBWRC-29×EC-464107, DPBWRC-39× DPBWRC-1 and EC-464115 × DPBWRC-29 were found to be good specific combiners for the majority of traits and can further be utilized to isolate superior segregates or released as hybrids. Key words: Gene action, General combining ability, Non-additive effect, Reciprocal effects, Specific combining ability.

Effect of Different N and K Fertigation Levels of Capsicum (Capsicum annuum var. grossum L.) as Influenced by Nutrient Content of Capsicum under Poly House

The experiment was carried out during rabi season of 2018-19 at Water Technology Centre, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad on capsicum (Capsicum annuum var. grossum L.) with respect to different nitrogen and potassium fertigation levels under poly house. The experiment comprised of three replications in Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with two factors {i.e. N levels (4), K levels (3) } and twelve treatments Viz; N fertigation levels of 0 %, 120 % (216 kg N ha-1) , 150 % (270 kg N ha-1), 180 % (324 kg N ha-1) and K fertigation levels of 0 %, 80 % (96 kg K2O ha-1), 100% (120 kg K2O ha-1) respectively. The 100 % RDF was 180, 90 and 120 kg N, P2O5 and K2O ha-1. The source of N was urea, P was single super phosphate (SSP) and K was white muriate of potash (MOP). The N and K were applied through drip fertigation on every fourth day during different crop growth stages. In the fertigation programme, during crop establishment stage (10 DAT to 14 DAT), 10 % of N and K2O were applied in two splits. During vegetative stage, (15 to 46 DAT) 30 % of N and 20 % of K2O were applied in eight splits. During flower initiation to fruit development (47 DAT to 74 DAT) 20 % of N and K2O were applied in seven splits. From fruit development till final harvesting stage (75 DAT to 154 DAT) 40 % of N and 50 % K2O were applied in 20 splits in a total of 37 splits. The soil of the experimental site was sandy loam in texture with low in available nitrogen (166.5 kg ha-1), medium in available phosphorus (81.1 kg P2O5 ha-1) and low in available potassium (245.4 kg K2O ha-1). Irrigation was scheduled at 0.8 Epan based on pan evaporation data. The total water applied to the crop was 414.8 mm. The total nitrogen content in capsicum shoots ranged from 3.41 to 4.57 %, 4.29 to 6.35 %, 4.43 to 6.67%, 4.76 to 6.86% and 4.53 to 6.58% at 30, 60, 90, and 120 and at final harvest respectively. In fruits, it ranged from 4.11 to 6.49 %, 3.92 to 6.35%, 4.01 to 6.25 % at 90, 120 and at final harvest respectively. The total phosphorus content in capsicum shoots ranged from 0.13 to 0.23 %, 0.42 to 0.92%, 0.14 to 0.33%, 0.12 to 0.24% and 0.12 to 0.20% at 30, 60, 90, 120 and at final harvest respectively. In fruits it ranged from 0.20 to 0.59 %, 0.24 to 0.57 %, 0.26 to 0.70 % at 90, 120 and at final harvest respectively. The total potassium content in capsicum shoots ranged from 0.87 to 1.83 %, 1.77 to 2.65%, 1.50 to 2.23%, 0.96 to 1.54% and 0.83 to 1.38% at 30, 60, 90, 120 and at final harvest respectively. In fruits it ranged from 1.02 to 1.47%, 0.98 to 1.35%, 0.93 to 1.28% at 90, 120 and at final harvest respectively.

ZnO Semiconductor Nanoparticles and Their Application in Photocatalytic Degradation of Various Organic Dyes.

The biosynthesis of oxide semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs) using materials found in nature opens a wide field of study focused on sustainability and environmental protection. Biosynthesized NPs have the capacity to eliminate organic dyes, which pollute water and cause severe damage to the environment. In the present work, the green synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs was carried out using Capsicum annuum var. Anaheim extract. The photocatalytic elimination of methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), and Rhodamine B (RhB) in UV radiation was evaluated. The materials were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) and SEM-coupled energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), attenuated total reflectance-infrared (ATR-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Photoluminescence (PL), and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The TEM analysis showed the NPs have an average size of 40 nm and quasi-spherical shape. ATR-IR showed the ZnO NPs contained functional groups from the extract. The analysis through XRD indicated that the NPs have a hexagonal zincite crystal structure with an average crystallite size of approximately 17 nm. The photoluminescence spectrum (PL) presented an emission band at 402 nm. From the UV-Vis spectra and TAUC model, the band-gap value was found to be 2.93 eV. Finally, the photocatalytic assessment proved the ZnO NPs achieved 100% elimination of MB at 60 min exposure, and 85 and 92% degradation of MO and RhB, respectively, at 180 min. This indicates that ZnO NPs, in addition to using a friendly method for their synthesis, manage to have excellent photocatalytic activity in the degradation of various organic pollutants.

Pungency and fruit quality in Mexican landraces of piquín pepper (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum) as affected by plant growth environment and postharvest handling

Pungency and fruit quality in Mexican landraces of piquín pepper (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum) as affected by plant growth environment and postharvest handling

Effect of cow vermicompost on growth, fruit yield, and quality of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum var. Red chili)

Effect of cow vermicompost on growth, fruit yield, and quality of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum var. Red chili)

Effects of sun-drying on the antioxidant potentials of pepper (Capsicum) varieties

The present study investigated the effects of sun-drying on the antioxidant potential of three pepper varieties: Capsicum annuum var, Capsicum chinense and Capsicum annuum. Fresh fruits of the pepper varieties were collected, washed under distilled water and were divided into two parts: one for fresh sample and the other for the dried sample. Dried and fresh samples of the pepper varieties were homogenized and extracted with methanol. The concentrations of total phenolics and flavonoids were evaluated; DPPH-radical scavenging activity and the FRAP potential of the extracts were also determined. The results revealed that sun-drying process significantly reduced the total phenolic content of C. annuum var, C. chinense and C. annuum from 5.91 ± 0.22 mg/g GAE, 6.9 ± 0.23 mg/g GAE, 6.67 ± 0.99 mg/g GAE to 3.31 ± 0.72 mg/g GAE, 3.59 ± 0.89 mg/g GAE, 3.01 ± 0.17 mg/g GAE respectively and flavonoid content from 3.80 ± 0.02 mg/g QE, 3.91 + 0.08 mg/g QE, 3.84 ± 0.08 mg/g QE to 1.26 ± 0.90 mg/g QE, 1.95 ± 0.07 mg/g QE, 1.23 ± 0.04 mg/g QE respectively. The result also revealed that the fresh samples of C. annuum var, C. chinense and C. annuum exhibited higher percentage inhibition of DPPH-radical at 59.4 ± 0.5%, 61.2 ± 0.6%, 58.9 ± 0.2% respectively and were significantly different from the percentage inhibition by the dried samples: 39.2 ± 0.5%, 42.4 ± 0.4%, 38.6 ± 0.6% respectively.The FRAP potential of the fresh samples of C. annuum var, C. chinense and C. annuum: 588.56 ± 29.4 ìmol Fe(II)/g, 691.34 ± 20.46 ìmol Fe(II)/g and 598.9 ± 23. 82 ìmol Fe(II)/g respectively were significantly different from the dried samples: 370.22 ± 14.75 ìmol Fe(II)/g, 392.34 ± 45.74 ìmol Fe(II)/g and 358.6 ± 30.08 ìmol Fe(II)/g respectively. The three Capsicum species are very rich in antioxidants. However, the sun drying method reduced the antioxidant capacities of the peppers, thus further studies should be carried out on the best method for the preservation of Capsicum species.
 Key Words: Capsicum. annuum var, C. chinense, C. annuum, Antioxidant, Sun-drying, methanolic extract

Dry Matter Production and Nutrient Uptake of Coloured Capsicum Hybrids (Capsicum annuum var. grossum L.) as Influenced by Different Irrigation Levels under Shade Net

Aim: The experiment was aimed at evaluating the influence of different irrigation levels on dry matter production and nutrient uptake of coloured capsicum hybrids.
 Study Design: Split plot design with three replications
 Place and Duration of Study: Horticultural farm, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad during rabi 2018-19.
 Methodology: The experiment was laid out in split plot design and the treatments comprises of four irrigation levels viz., drip irrigation at 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 Epan as main treatments and three hybrids viz., Indra (green), Orobelle (yellow), Bomby (red) as sub treatments and replicated thrice. The recommended dose of nutrients were 100:80:60 N, P2O5 and K2O kg ha-1 and entire dose of P2O5 was applied as basal, N and K2O was applied through venturi meter as fertigation on three days interval from 9 to 153 DAT. The crop was transplanted at 45 cm × 40 cm spacing in September under a green shade net. Irrigation scheduling was done based on daily evaporation data recorded from USWB class ‘A’ pan evaporimeter. The cumulative daily evaporation during crop growth period was 737.5 mm. Quantity of water applied including special operations of 26 mm and effective rainfall during crop growth period were 245.3, 392.0, 546.5 and 698.5 mm and 58.6, 64.2, 74.6, 82.6 mm out of 127.4 mm of rainfall for 100, 80, 60 and 40 per cent irrigation treatments, respectively as per water balance method. Bed size was 7.6 m × 0.9 m.
 Results: Significantly higher yield (47.50 t ha-1) was recorded with drip irrigation at 1.0 Epan than rest of the treatments. Indra recorded significantly higher yield (40.27 t ha-1) than other two hybrids. The interaction effect between drip irrigation levels and hybrids was not significant on Dry Matter Production and N, P & K uptakes and economics of capsicum. DMP and nutrient uptake were significantly higher with drip irrigation at 1.0 Epan than 0.8, 0.6 and 0.4 Epan throughout the crop growth over other drip irrigation levels. Among hybrids, Indra recorded significantly higher DMP and nutrient uptake than other two hybrids.

Prediction of the fruit development stage of sweet pepper (Capsicum annum var. annuum) by an ensemble model of convolutional and multilayer perceptron

An ensemble model of convolutional neural network (CNN) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) models was developed to detect sweet pepper ( Capsicum annuum var. annuum ) fruits in images and predict their development stages. The plants were grown in four rows in a greenhouse, and images were collected from each row. Plant environment and growth data were collected every minute and month, respectively. The fruit development stage was classified into immature, breaking, and mature stages with a CNN using images. The immature stage was internally divided into four stages with an MLP, so a total of six stages were classified using the CNN–MLP ensemble model. The plant growth and environmental data and the information from the CNN output were used for the MLP input. The average accuracy of the six stages was F1 score = 0.77 and IoU = 0.86. The ensemble model showed acceptable performance in predicting fruit development stages. The CNN-only model could classify the mature and breaking stages well, but the immature stages were not distinguished, while the MLP-only model could hardly classify the fruit stage except the immature stages. The most influential factors in classification were the data obtained from CNN and the plant growth and environment data. The ensemble models could help in appropriate labour allocation and strategic management by detecting individual fruits in images and predicting precise fruit development stages. • Ensemble of CNN and MLP models to predict fruit developmental stage of sweet pepper. • CNN-only and MLP-only models could not predict all six stages. • Ensemble model accurately detected fruits and predicted six developmental stages. • Model could be expanded to assist in labour allocation and strategic management.

Mapping and validation of markers linked to Rf gene in sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum var grossum)

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), is the most valuable system in commercial hybrid seed production in hot pepper. Whereas in sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum var grossum), the unavailability of a stable restorer’s line is one of the major constraints in commercial hybrid breeding. Identifying the markers linked to CMS and nuclear restorer-of-fertility (Rf) genes will help in the production of CMS hybrids in sweet pepper. In the present study, we identified seven markers co-segregating with Rf genes using bulk segregating analysis (BSA) on the F2 Rf-segregating mapping population. Among these, the CRF-SCAR marker proved to be linked to the fertility restorer gene and it could be used for screening of genotypes to identify restorers and non-restorer lines in future Capsicum breeding programs and help in the establishment of CMS system for commercial hybrid seed production.

Water restriction during the vegetative and reproductive stages of Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum, and its effect on growth, secondary metabolites and fruit yield

The fruits of Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum, due to their culinary use, have a high market demand in southeastern Mexico. The obtained product is the result of the abiotic and biotic conditions that this species faces during its development and production under wild conditions because its cultivation has not yet been established. To advance the knowledge of the response of this chili to abiotic factors, the growth, secondary metabolite concentrations and yields of plants subjected to water deficit (WD) were evaluated during two phenological stages: vegetative and reproductive (flowering and fruiting). Two independent experiments were established, each under a completely randomized design with a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement. The treatments were a) with and without WD during the vegetative stage (VS) and b) with and without WD during the reproductive stage (RS). Each treatment comprised groups of 20 plants and had four sampling dates. The results showed that the application of WD during the VS affected the growth, accumulation of biomass, leaf area, and duration of the phenological stages of this species. During the VS, WD decreased the number and weight of plant−1 fruits (60.9 and 59.4 %, respectively) compared to the treatment without WD. In both stages, the proline content in leaves increased (93.9–100%) with WD. The concentrations of photosynthetic pigments, phenolic compounds and total flavonoids in leaves and the contents of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in fruits were not affected by WD in either the VS or RS. In general, this species is more sensitive to WD applied during the VS than the RS.

Genetic male sterility breeding in heat tolerant bell pepper: Introgression of ms10 gene from hot pepper through marker-assisted backcrossing

The main goal of this research was to introgressed the genetic male sterility (GMS) gene ms10 from hot pepper (Capsicum annuum var. annuum) to heat tolerant bell pepper (C. annuum var. grossum) inbreds and to pyramid it with the non-pungent (pun1) gene. The gene positive plant selection was assisted by the SSR marker linked to ms10 gene located on chromosome I and the SCAR marker indicating the non-pungent pun1 gene presence. First, we backcrossed and screened BC1F1 and BC2F1 plants having heterozygous (Ms10ms10) genotype for GMS specific marker AVRDC-PP12. Secondly, the background recovery rate of the recurrent parent phenome (RPP) in both the backcrossed progeny was estimated by measuring the shift in means for fruit traits. Simultaneously, targeted gene positive (Ms10ms10) non-pungent (pun1) heterozygous plant(s) were identified in BC2F1 generation using BF7 and BF 9-SCAR marker. The best gene positive individual plant from each population was backcrossed with their respective recurrent parent and selfed for validation of ms10 gene. Finally, we obtained six gene positive (ms10) GMS lines designated as MSSM-1, MSSM-2, MSSM-3, MSSM-9, MSSM-17, and MSSM-21 from this work. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that GMS ms10 gene has been successfully transferred from hot pepper to heat tolerant bell pepper through marker-assisted backcross breeding scheme coupled with stringent phenotypic selection. The developed GMS lines will provide great economic value for non-pungent hybrid bell pepper seed production in the near future.

Determination of Suitable Candidate Genes as Endogenous Control for Gene Expression Analysis in Local Capsicum Annuum MC11

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is one of the most common methods for gene expression studies. Data normalization based on reference genes is essential for qRT-PCR assays. This study identifies suitable reference genes for local chilli, Capsicum annuum var MC11 under incident of Cucumber mosaic virus infection. Six candidate genes actin, tub, EF1α, GAPDH, TEF1α and 18SrRNA and three validated Capsicum reference genes UBI-3 ref, β-tub ref and gapdhref were tested against five chilli plant parts stem, shoot, leave, flower and root. The PCR/qRT-PCR results demonstrate only five candidate references genes actin, EF1α, GAPDH, 18SrRNA, and TEF1α that show specific single band of amplicon, without primer dimers and at the targeted sizes. Through qRT-PCR, GAPDH gives single peak in dissociation curve in all plant parts used further fulfilling the characteristic of reference genes.Previous work on validation of reference genes in pepper shows that only UBI-3 suits to C. annuum var MC11 infected CMV, thus we suggest that GAPDH has a potential to be a validated reference gene for C. annuum var MC11 and can be used together UBI-3 for the purpose of data normalization.

Physical properties of dried red chili (Capsicum annuum) var. Hot Beauty as a function of moisture content

Dried red chili variety of Hot Beauty from local Malang city, East Java, Indonesia were determined experimentally at various water contents of 12.009, 13.005, 15.012, 17.248, and 19.003% (wet basis) then monitoring was done based on several physical parameters. The objectives of this research are to determine physical properties of chili such as length, width, thickness, roundness, mean diameter, surface area, bulk density, true density, porosity, coefficient of static friction (towards cardboard surface, metal plate, plywood board, and stainless steel), and compressive force at different moisture content. The results showed that geometrical dimension, roundness, mean diameter, surface area, bulk density, true density, porosity, and coefficient of static friction were linearly increased following the increase of water content. Otherwise, compressive force was decreased following the increase of water contents from 12.009 to 19.003% (wet basis). This can be happened due to high water content causing the increase of internal pressure on cell wall of dry red chili in which this pressure is naturally strengthen the structure of cell wall and make it more rigid.