Inheritance of fruiting habit traits in chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)

Fruiting habit, viz. fruits node(-1)and fruit orientation are economically important traits in chilli. Fruiting habit could be solitary erect, solitary pendant, clustered erect or clustered pendant. Farmers' preference for fruiting habit traits varies from region to region. An understanding of the inheritance of fruiting habit traits helps accelerate breeding chilli cultivars with farmer-preferred combination of such traits. Eight diverse genotypes contrasting for fruiting habit traits were crossed to develop ten F-1 hybrids of six combinations. The F-2 and backcross generations of all the six distinct types of crosses were evaluated and pattern of segregation for fruiting habit traits was recorded. Results indicated bi-allelic, monogenic inheritance of fruits node(-1) (solitary versus clustered) and fruit orientation (pendant versus erect) with solitary being dominant over clustered and pendant being dominant over erect orientation respectively. Genes controlling fruits node(-1) and orientation of fruits segregated independently. Implications of these results are discussed in relation to strategic and applied chilli breeding.