ASSESSING COMBINING ABILITY OF DIVERSE CHILI PEPPER GENOTYPES TO DEVELOP HIGH YIELD AND QUALITY ADOPTED HYBRIDS UNDER EGYPTIAN CONDITIONS

Abstract

Developing adapted chili pepper genotypes to Egyptian conditions offering both high yield and quality is crucial particularly under the current fast-growing population and abrupt climate change. Thereupon, this study aimed to investigate the general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining abilities for yield and quality traits, develop hybrids adapted to Egyptian conditions with high yield and quality, and elucidate the type of gene action governing these traits in chili pepper. This study was carried out at a private farm in DakahlyiaGovernorate, Egypt during the two successive autumn seasons 2021 and 2022 applying half-diallel mating scheme (5×5) without reciprocals. Five diverse parental genotypes of chili pepper were used for this study; i.e., P4, P5, P7, P8, and P11. The results reflected highly significant variation among the tested parental genotypes and crosses in all studied traits. The best combiner based on GCA was P8 for most tested traits. It recorded significant positive GCA values all studied traits except for number of fruits per plant and fruit wall thickness showed insignificant medium GCA effect. In addition, all evaluated parental genotypes were good for improving fruit length and fruit diameter. The results reflected the role of non-additive gene action on offspring for total yield was confirmed. The relationship among the tested characters could provide useful information for screening pepper genotypes and breeding programs.