Abstract:
Capsicum chinense peppers are mostly native to Brazil and the biquinho (beaked)-type C. chinense pepper, aromatic and non-pungent, has been increasing in importance in the Brazilian fresh and pickled pepper market. Despite the increasing demand, a few cultivars are available to growers and breeding programs are required in order to offer interesting cultivars to producers and consumers. This paper reports breeding efforts made on a segregating red-fruited biquinho population which combined stratified mass selection and selfing for two generations before obtaining 17 inbred lines. The 17 progenies were characterized considering 11 morphological traits, and evaluated for fruit production under field conditions. Additionally, capsaicin content was determined using High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Based on the results, three progenies were selected and considered to have high potential: CNPH 35.103 was considered promising for future release as a cultivar due to high yield (1.4 kg/plant), strong aroma and thick walls; and CNPH 35.094 and CNPH 35.099 were also high yielders and presented capsaicin content close to zero.
Keywords:
Capsicum chinense; selection; sweet pepper; fruit color; pungency.
