TY - BOOK AU - Suvarna, K AU - Anitha, P (Guide) TI - Evaluation of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) genotypes for yield, bacterial wilt and leaf curl virus incidence U1 - 635.6 PY - 2024/// CY - Vellanikkara PB - Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture KW - Vegetable Science KW - Chilli KW - Capsicum annuum L KW - Bacterial wilt KW - Leaf curl N1 - MSc N2 - Chilli is one of the important vegetable spice cultivated worldwide and is commonly referred to as red pepper or hot pepper. It is a crucial commercial crop utilized as a vegetable, spice, condiment and culinary flavour enhancer. Chilli is mainly used as culinary supplement to add flavour, colour and pungency. Chilli is an abundant source of vitamin A and C. Capsaicin and its related compounds present in the placental tissue of its fruits is used in pain relieve balms and vapour rubs. The green fruits of chilli stand out as one of the most plentiful sources of antioxidants. Despite its considerable nutritional value, widespread acceptance among consumers and extensive genetic diversity, achieving optimal productivity in chilli production remains a challenge due to lack of high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties or hybrids. In addition, diseases like chilli leaf curl virus and bacterial wilt are the most two important diseases affecting chilli production. In this context, the current study was initiated with the objective of assessment of morphological traits of chilli genotypes for yield to identify high yielding ones and to simultaneously evaluate these genotypes against bacterial wilt and leaf curl virus incidence. The present study was conducted in the Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara during January 2023 to May 2023, using 31 chilli genotypes. The analysis of variance among the 31 genotypes of chilli revealed significant variations across all the traits. Genetic parameters such as Genotypic Coefficient of Variation (GCV), Phenotypic Coefficient of Variation (PCV), heritability and Genetic Advance (GA) were computed to assess the extent of variability. High GCV and PCV were exhibited by the characters like plant height, fruits per plant, average fresh fruit weight, average dry fruit weight, fruit length, fruit girth, pedicel- fruit ratio, yield per plant, bacterial wilt incidence, incidence of leaf curl virus, oleoresin content, capsaicin content, ascorbic acid content. The results indicated that the presence of a broad genetic base which will be useful in further selection. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance was reported in most of the morphological and quality characters indicating that these characters are under the influence of additive gene action. Therefore, it is feasible to apply direct selection for improving these traits. Correlation studies indicated that fruit yield per plant was significantly and positively correlated with plant height, primary branches per plant, fruits per plant, average fresh fruit weight, average dry fruit weight, fruit length, pedicel length, oleoresin content, capsaicin content and ascorbic acid content. Interrelationships among plant traits is crucial for enhancing both yield and quality. Hence, simultaneous selection for these characters would be advantageous for enhancing chilli yield. Path coefficient analysis among yield and its constituent traits indicated that the fruits per plant, average fresh fruit weight, days to harvest, pedicel length, fruit girth and plant height showed direct positive influence on yield. Path analysis reveals whether the correlation between yield-related traits and yield is having direct effect, in which case direct selection for improvement is possible. From the present study, based on the path coefficient and correlation results the genotypes CA 1, CA 3, CA 6 and Ujwala were recognized as promising or advantageous. The 31 chilli genotypes were categorized into eleven clusters using Mahalanobis D2 statistic. Cluster I contained the largest number of genotypes (21), followed by cluster II, cluster III, cluster IV, cluster V, cluster VI, cluster VII, cluster VIII, cluster IX, cluster X and cluster XI which had one genotype each. The intra-cluster distance was the highest in cluster I, while the inter-cluster distance was the greatest between cluster IV and cluster IX. Hence, selecting genotypes for hybridization or developing hybrids, genotypes from these two clusters should be prioritized. The selection index for chilli was established based on the characters including fruit yield per plant, fruits per plant, average fresh fruit weight, incidence of leaf curl virus and bacterial wilt incidence. Among the genotypes evaluated, CA 3, CA 6, CA 1 and Ujjwala were identified as the top performers. Notably, genotypes CA 3, CA 6 and CA 1 exhibited superior performance in terms of yield and leaf curl virus resistance when compared to Ujwala UR - https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810225592 ER -