With the increase of the production of pepper in protected environment, pathogens began to cause serious damages to producers such as Leveillula taurica (Lév.) Arn., fungus that causes powdery mildew. The systemic fungicides have not shown very satisfactory results. Thus, considering that protected cropping of pepper in Brazil is significant and growing, the incorporation of genes that confer resistance to powdery mildew is important for the maintenance of this cropping system. In this research, carried out in 2007 in Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil, the agronomic performance and resistance to powdery mildew was determined by triple hybrids of sweet pepper through general and specific combining ability of their parents. For agronomic performance of the triple hybrid, it was evaluated the weight length and width average of the fruit, length and width ratio of the fruit and wall thickness. For severity of powdery mildew a scale of scores from 1 to 5 was used. For statistical and genetic analysis, it was adopted Griffing's method two, model I, adapted for partial diallel. The experimental design was completely randomized blocks, with 17 treatments, including ten experimental hybrids and seven parents, eight replications and four plants per plot. The additive effects were greater than the non-additive effects for all agronomic characters; 'P36-R' and 'Platero' were highlighted as good combiners; 'Quantum-R x HV-12', 'Rubia x HV-12' and 'P36-R x HV-12' presented the best specific combining ability; the mean square of the specific combining ability for the severity of the disease was significant indicating the importance of genes with dominant and epistatic effect; triple hybrids obtained by crosses with 'Quantum-R' and 'Rubia-R' had negative general combining ability and the best reactions to powdery mildew.
Capsicum annuum L.; Oidiopsis taurica (Lév) Arn.; breeding; vegetables
