Evaluation of Morphological and Agronomical Characterization of Turkish Pepper Accessions

Abstract

Collection and characterization of plant genetic resources and assessment of genetic variation plays a fundamental role in plant breeding programs. Pepper is an important crop in many countries and Turkey is fourth in world pepper production. A large number of cultivars and landraces are grown in commercial production in Turkey. Morphological traits of Turkish pepper accessions were evaluated and genetic variation in the population was assessed for further breeding. Principal component (PC) analysis indicated that 75.46% of total variation was accounted for on 10 PC axes and the first three axes were used in principal coordinate analysis for qualitative traits. The clustering pattern and principal coordinates revealed no relationship between geographic origin and geographic diversity in examined populations. There was considerable morphologic variation assessed among pepper genotypes likely due to introduction of diverse pepper genetic material to Turkey and continuing local selection. The large diversity indicates that pepper germplasm is a good source for use in breeding programs to develop improved local pepper populations through breeding that are adapted to local environmental conditions. Farmers prefer to use landraces due to their agronomic traits and resistance to some stress conditions. Some genotypes exhibited variation in plant growth habit, branching habit, and agronomic properties of fruit that makes them suitable either for processing or fresh consumption.