Heterosis and Heterobeltiosis Study of Hot Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Genotypes in Southern Ethiopia

Background and Objective: Exploitation of heterosis is one of the practical means of increasing yield and information on the magnitude of heterosis is a basic requisite for identifying crosses that exhibit high amount of exploitable heterosis in hot pepper. The heterosis study was conducted with the objectives of determining the magnitude of heterosis and heterobeltiosis for yield and quality and to identify and select superior F 1 hybrids for yield and quality improvement in hot pepper genotypes. Materials and Methods: The field experiment was conducted during 2014 through 2016 at six environments in Southern Ethiopia using 55 hot pepper genotypes that included 10 hot pepper parents and 45 F 1 hybrids obtained from 1010 half diallel crosses. It was laid out using RCBD with 3 replications and data collected was analyzed using Microsoft excel version 2013. Results: Analysis of mid and better parent heterosis confirmed that heterosis ranged from -51.50% in fruit dry weight to 97.66% in fresh fruit yield indicating the existence of sufficient heterosis that can be exploited in hot pepper breeding programs. Fresh fruit yield had mid and better parent heterosis ranging from -38.63 to 97.66% and from -47.24 to 80.44%, respectively. The highest heterosis for oleoresin content were recorded for MelkazalaAvpp59328, Avpp8913Avpp0512, MarakofanaAvpp0206, Avpp0206Avpp0105 and MelkazalaAvpp0514. The best selected hybrids in percentage mid and better parent heterosis for fresh fruit and dry weight yield include MelkashoteAvpp59328, MarakofanaAvpp59328, MelkashoteAvpp0105, Avpp0514Avpp0105 and Avpp9813Avpp0514. Conclusion: The investigation confirmed the existence of variable genetic potential for exploitation of heterosis for yield and quality including oleoresin content in Capsicum.