Biometrical Assessment of Interspecific Hybrids of Capsicum Genus

The F1 hybrids obtained as the result of interspecific crosses: C. annuum x C. frutescens, C. frutescens x C. annuum, C. frutescens x C. chinense and C. chinense x C. frutescens were analysed biometrically. The plants were cultured in unheated foil tent. Yield and the number of fruit from plant were qualified. For ten plants of each of the hybrids detailed fruit analysis were performed. The tested traits were: weight of fruit, length, width, technological weight and weight of pericarp, pericarp thickness, the weight of placenta without seeds, the weight of dry seeds and the dry matter content. The analysis of variance was conducted on the obtained results. The tested hybrids were characterised by the large differentiation of the estimated characters. The hybrids obtained from crosses: C. annuum x C. frutescens and C. frutescens x C. annuum seem to be the most valuable material for the future pepper breeding work. Fruits of these hybrids combine high weight, typical for cultivated forms of C. annuum with increased dry matter content characteristic for C. frutescens. These materials will be used as the parental forms of homozygous lines which possess traits valuable in genetic improvement of pepper.