In this study, the response of Besni pepper (Capsicum annuum L), one of the local varieties of Turkey, to anther culture was determined. A total of 26 Besni pepper genotypes and 3 control cultivars were examined for their response to anther culture. One hundred and fifty anthers from each pepper genotype were cultured under in vitro conditions. A significant difference (0.0%-45.3%) was found among the genotypes in terms of response to anther culture. The highest embryo formation rate was found in genotype B11 with 45.3% (63 embryos) and the highest transformation rate to plant was found in genotype B15 with 30 plants (68%). Compared to control varieties, Besni pepper genotypes produced significantly more embryos. All genotypes except two out of 26 genotypes used produced more or less (1-68) embryos. B4, B10, B11, B12, B15, and G6 genotypes produced more than 25% of embryos and were separated from the control and other genotypes. The average embryo formation rate of the genotypes collected from Besni and G lba districts was 13% and 7%, respectively, while the embryo formation rate of the control varieties was only 0.2%. It was concluded that the Besni pepper population was highly responsive to androgenetic haploid. The highly responsive genotypes that form high embryos such as B4, B10, B11, B12, B15, and G6 have the potential to be used in developing new breeding lines and in studies investigating the genetics of anther culture.
PINAR et al. (Wed,) studied this question.