Combining ability and agronomic performance of sweet pepper in greenhouse

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the combining ability of sweet pepper lines, to identify superior hybrid combinations for fruit productivity and quality, and to infer the gene action involved in the expression of agronomic traits of economic importance. Five sweet pepper lines from the Project Solanaceae Breeding for Production Systems, of the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco were crossed in a partial diallel scheme with two simple hybrids: Atlantis (ATL) and Valdor (VAL), used as testers. Lines and hybrids were selected for the study by presenting different morphological characteristics, such as fruit shape, length and diameter, pulp thickness and productivity. Completely randomized blocks were the experimental design, with four replications and twenty treatments consisting of five lines, two testers, ten experimental hybrids and three commercial hybrids as controls, which were analyzed using the method 2 model I of Griffing, adapted by Geraldi & Miranda Filho (1988). The authors detected genetic variability enough to be explored in diallel components; for most traits, the additive and non-additive effects were significant and important, showing the performance of genotypes and their contribution for the production of superior hybrids; lines L1B, L6 and L7 and the tester Valdor stood out as good combiners which presented higher general combining ability for most agronomic traits; the triple hybrid L1B x VAL stood out for the best performance with the best specific combining abilities.