Abstract

In the last years, demand for peppers and Capsicum-based products has increased significantly around the world, including canned, frozen, dried, paste, juice and colour extract for processing industry. This higher demand is explained in parts because of enhanced functional properties and health benefits. The Chilean Agricultural Research Institute (INIA) started in 2007 a Capsicum annum breeding program in traits of industrial interest for fruit pepper quality such as colour, pericarp thickness, fruit dry matter, sugar content, shape, size, and high beta-carotenes content. Two years bulk crossing were done in order to increase the genetic variability, by crossing 22 landraces and varieties differing in color, shape, and Phytophtora capsici response. After bulk crossing, five sub-populations were selected, grouped and independently cultivated for further selection and self-pollination; Red bell blocky 4-lobed fruits (L1889), Red long blocky fruits (L1890), Yellow bell blocky 4-lobed fruits (L1891), Red bell blocky 4-lobed fruits (L1892), Red long blocky fruits (L1893). After 6 years of recurrent selection of these sub-populations, we initiated the selection of advance lines based in the industrial fruit quality traits (colour, pericarp thickness (≥6mm), fruit dry matter (≥10%), sugar content (≥8°Brix), shape, and size), fruit number/plant, fruit weight, and yield/plant. During the last season and among 1710 selected segregating lines, 65 advanced lines (under self-pollination) meet the industrial fruit quality traits. Among the advances lines the principal component analysis (PCA) indicate that PC1 and PC2 explained 55.2 % of the total quantitative variation among the advanced lines; the largest contribution to this variation were the characteristics associated with fruit fresh weight, yield per plant, and fruit dry matter (%). Through the Cluster Analysis (CA) two large groups were formed in the dendrogram: Group I clustering the majority of advanced lines belong to sub-population L1892 (Red bell blocky 4-lobed fruits) and fruits with higher dry matter (%) and higher sugar content (°Brix). Group II clustering advanced lines belong to sub-populations L1889 and L1892 both Red bell blocky 4-lobed fruits, and L1891 (Yellow bell blocky 4-lobed fruits), this group include fruits with higher fruit fresh weight. The best advanced lines were L1892-41-04 with pericarp thickness (6,3mm), fruit dry matter (13,6%), sugar content (≥7.5°Brix) and fruit fresh-weight (233g) and Line L1892-18-18 with pericarp thickness (6,4 mm), fruit dry matter (12,4%), sugar content (≥8.1°Brix) and fruit fresh-weight (151g).