Evaluation of fruit traits in pepper (type kapiya) collection from North Macedonia

Abstract

Fruit traits for 19 accessions of Capsicum annuum L. from North Macedonia were evaluated. The vernacular names indicated that these accessions belong to kapiya type or peppers intended for processing. The trial was conducted in 2018 in the Skopje area on open field in a randomized block design with three replications. Morphological characterization was conducted for several quantitative (length, diameter, weight, pericarp thickness) and qualitative (color, shape, shape at pedicel attachment and blossom end and cross-sectional corrugation) fruit traits. Average fruit weight ranged from 66.12 g (genotype FZNH 319) to 159.51 g (genotype FZNH 537), with average fruit length from 12.46 cm (genotype FZNH 528) to 18.12 cm (genotype FZNH 268). The fruit shape in some accessions was not typical for kapiya types, but all accessions had high average values for fruit wall thickness which is the preferred parameter for processing. The analysis revealed that there are significant statistical differences between the evaluated accessions. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed and the genotypes were grouped into three clusters. The PCA (principal component analysis) identified 3 principal components explaining 74.63% of the total variability. The data obtained can be useful in identifying potential genotypes for further selection or recommendation for direct inclusion in production, since the majority of producers of this type of pepper prefer local or commercial cultivars instead of hybrids.