Genetic dissimilarity among pepper accessions with potential for ornamental use

Genetic dissimilarity among pepper accessions with potential for ornamental use Some plants of the Capsicum genus are used as ornamental plants because they have traits with aesthetic value, are easy to cultivate and have great durability. However, in Brazil there are few commercial varieties for this use. The goal of this work was to characterize and study genetic distance of accessions with ornamental potential from Capsicum Germplasm Bank of Embrapa Clima Temperado. The experiment was carried out from July 2007 to February 2008, at the experimental field of Embrapa Clima Temperado. The experimental design was randomized complete blocks, with three replicates, using 17 accessions. Ten plants per plot were used. Plants were morphologically characterized with eight quantitative descriptors and 22 qualitative descriptors. Quantitative data were used for analysis of means, canonical analysis, grouping by UPGMA and by Tocher methods. The qualitative data were grouped by UPGMA and by Tocher methods. The accessions were grouped in different ways when used quantitative and qualitative data. The analysis of qualitative data formed more groups than the analysis using quantitative data. The use of characterization based both on quantitative and on qualitative descriptors, but with separated analysis, allows a more reliable interpretation of genetic dissimilarity and indicates the best direction for crosses in Capsicum.