Assessment of relationship among yield and fruit quality traits in chilli germplasm through correlation analysis

Abstract

Chilli is one of the most significant vegetable and spice crops globally. Simultaneous selection of a combination of associated characters is always targeted in crop breeding programs. Expression of traits leading to plant phenotype is the result of associated inheritance of many interrelated genes working together. Correlation coefficients were assessed in seventy-two genotypes in chilli for twenty different quantitative characters. Phenotypic correlation co-efficient analysis revealed significant positive association of number of fruits per plant, plant spread in north south, individual fruit weight, stem girth, plant spread in east west, fruit length and plant height with fruit yield per plant. However, the peroxidase activity was found to be negatively and significantly associated with fruit yield per plant. Correlations among yield component traits revealed positive and significant association of individual fruit weight with fruit diameter, fruit length, whereas showed negative significant relation with number of fruits per plant. Plant spread in east west direction and north south, plant height and stem girth had significant positive association with number of fruits per plant. Among the quality parameters, the trait capsaicin content had positive and highly significant correlation with fruit diameter and individual fruit weight, but negative with dry matter content, Ascorbic acid and stem girth.