Genetics of bacterial wilt resistance in sweet pepper

Two parents, F₁ and F₂ generations and two back cross generations of six crosses were evolved, using two resistant (‘PBC- 631′ and ‘IHR- 546′) and two susceptible parents [‘California Wonder’ (CW) and ‘Yolo Wonder’(YW)] to study the genetics of bacterial wilt resistance. Plants were established in bacterial wilt infested soil at the experimental farm of Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture, CSK HPKV, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India, during summer-rainy season, 2006. Bacterial wilt resistance was dominant and its intensity varied from incomplete dominance to complete dominance depending upon the resistant and susceptible parent used. A single dominant gene governed bacterial wilt resistance in PBC-631 × CW, PBC-631 × YW and IHR-546 × CW, and the segregation of their test cross (B₂) populations was in the ratio of 1(R):1(S). This information can be useful for adopting suitable breeding strategy to develop bacterial wilt resistant cultivars/varieties in sweet pepper.