Genetic divergence in chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)

Thirty five chilli genotypes of different geographical origin were assessed to know the nature and magnitude of genetic divergence using Mahalanobis D² statistics. The population was grouped into six clusters. The clustering pattern indicated that there was no association between geographical distribution of genotypes and genetic divergence. The characters namely, fruits per plant, yield per plant, fruit length, fruit girth and fruit weight were contributing maximum divergence and played dominant role in the improvement of chilli yield. Therefore, selection for divergent parents based on these characters is recommended for getting good hybrids or segregants in chilli.