Estimation of genetic variability in advance breeding lines derived from inter-varietal crosses in chilli

Abstract

The experimental material comprised of 58 advance breeding lines derived from ten intervarietal crosses and six varieties including ‘Surajmukhi’ as standard check. The material was evaluated in randomized complete block design with three replications during summer 2015. Sufficient genetic variability was observed for yield and related traits. Phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were high for primary branches/plant and green fruit yield/plant. Estimates of heritability and genetic advance were high for fruit length, fruit girth, pedicel length, leaf length, leaf width, primary branches/plant, oleoresin content, capsaicin content and green fruit yield/plant which indicated the importance of additive gene action. These traits along with average fruit weight and plant height revealed positive association with green fruit yield/plant. In view of the direct and indirect contributions of component traits, average fruit weight, plant height, leaf width and fruits/plant would be a paying preposition for selection and evolving high yielding genotypes of chilli.