Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance Studies in Sweet Pepper (Capsicum annuilm L.)

The present investigation was conducted during kharif, 2003 at Hill Campus, Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand with 45 sweet pepper genotypes. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. Genetic variability was studied for characters viz., days to first picking, plant height, leaf area, fruit length, fruit diameter, flesh thickness, fruit weight, number of pickings, number of fruits per plant, yield per plant, TSS and ascorbic acid content. Data were analyzed statistically for phenotypic, genotypic and environmental coefficient of variation and heritability genetic advance/genetic gain. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the genotypes for ail the traits. Genotypes EC51961 0 and EC519611 were promising for further utilization in plant improvement programme as they possessed more than one desirable trails. Moderate to high rcv, GCV, heritability and genetic gain were observed for ascorbic acid content, number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant and fruit length.