GENETIC STUDIES OF F4 GENERATION IN CHILLI (CAPSICUM ANNUM L.)

A field experiment entitled "Genetic Studies of F 4 Generation in chilli (Capsicum annum L.)" was conducted during the year 2023-24 at experimental field of Department of Horticulture, VNMKV, Parbhani.Twenty genotypes including check variety Parbhani Mirchi and Arka Tanvi with three replications to Study variability, heritability, genetic advance and correlation studies to select the superior genotype.Analysis of variance revealed that highly significant difference among accessions for all the traits studied.The genotypes PBNC-5-W4-2-3 and PBNC-6-W4-1-2 performed best in terms of yield and other horticultural traits over standard check variety.The (PCV) were higher in magnitude than their analogous (GCV) for all the studied characters, though differences were minimal in most of the characters.The highest phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were found in the green fruit yield per plant, followed by green fruit yield per ha, green fruit yield per plot, pericarp thickness, number of fruits per plant, pedicel length, and capsaicin content.high heritability coupled with number of fruits per plant followed by green fruit yield per plant, green fruit yield per plot, green fruit yield per ha, plant height plant spread N-S, plant spread E-W, average weight of the fruit, days to 50% flowering, length of the fruit, days to initiation of flowering, pericarp thickness number of pickings per plant, pedicel length, diameter of the fruit, Number of primary branches and capsaicin content.This suggests that additive gene action is predominant, making direct phenotypic selection effective for these traits.The phenotypic and genotypic correlation coefficients for various traits were analysed, with genotypic correlation coefficients generally being higher than their phenotypic counterparts.At both the phenotypic and genotypic levels, the correlation coefficient between different characters observed that green fruit yield per plant was significantly and positively correlated with weight of the fruit, number of fruits per plant, diameter of the fruit, pedicel length, pericarp thickness, fruit length, plant hight, number of primary branches, capsaicin content, plant spread N-S, and plant spread E-W.Whereas negative significant correlation with days to initiation of flowering and days to 50% flowering.There is ample scope for selection, and the traits mentioned earlier should be considered when making decisions to further improve the green fruit yield per plant in chilli.