Morphological and Biochemical Characterization of Parental Lines and F 1 Hybrids of Capsicum annuum L. for Various Growth and Yield Contributing Attributes and Phytophthora capsici Resistance

Capsicum annuum L. comprises both vegetable and spice crops, which are known for their high nutritional and medicinal values, and hence grow in both tropical and temperate regions. In the present study, four intraspecific F 1 hybrids developed through reciprocal crossing between Phytophthora susceptible bell pepper cultivars (‘California Wonder’ and ‘Solan Bharpur’) and a Phytophthora resistant chilli landrace, ‘CM334’, were evaluated for 40 morphological and 17 biochemical traits linked to yield and P. capsici resistance. The F 1 hybrids were intermediate to parents in terms of fruit size, the number of lobes per fruit, seed count, leaf shape, leaf length and width, leaf and stem hairiness, phenol, protein, antioxidant, sugars, ascorbic acid, PAL, PPO, PO, SOD and proline. They also showed traits typical of the parental types, including fruit shape, pungency and the number of primary branches. The ‘CM334’ plants exhibited the highest resistance to Phytophthora blight and fruit rot, which was supported by elevated levels of PO, PPO, PAL, SOD activities and proline content, whereas the F 1 plants had maximum catalase, H 2 O 2 , β‐1, 3 glucanase, chitinase activities and hydrogen peroxide content, which was lowest in the susceptible parents. The most leading were included fruit weight, fruit length, fruit diameter, the number of seeds and lobes, primary branches, ascorbic acid, sugars, capsaicin, peroxidase, catalase, SOD, PPO, β‐1,3 glucanase, chitinase and proline, which accounted largely for the overall variability. Significant mean differences were recorded for many traits accompanied by notable heterosis and reciprocal effects, and considerable association between fruit shape and pungency, as well as with PAL, PPO, PO, proline, β‐1,3 glucanase, chitinase and SOD. These findings need to be further validated in distinct genetic backgrounds and mapping populations to ascertain the usefulness of phenotypic and biochemical markers for further genetic enhancement.