GENETIC VARIABILITY FOR MORPHOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES AND SEED PROTEIN PROFILING IN CHILI (CAPSICUM ANNUUM L.)

Twenty three chili accessions originating from nine countries including Pakistan were investigated for genetic variability for morphological attributes and total seed protein during the cropping seasons of 2011 and 2012 at National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan. Traits diversity was analyzed by employing statistical tools that revealed not only considerable variation but also grouping on similarities and associations that can accelerate their utilization in research. Considerable differences noted for different morpho-agronomic traits revealed substantial variation for leaf length, plant height, number of locules, fruit width, seed diameter and fruit bearing period. However, pedicel length, fruit wall thickness and number of seeds/fruit displayed low variation in both years. Association among various quantitative parameters based on correlation coefficients was significant. Fruit weight and fruit wall thickness showed significant association with number of fruits, fruit yield per plant, total yield and number of locules. The first three PCs cumulatively contributed 61.44% and 85.88% during 2011 and 2012, respectively. Clustering pattern observed was regardless of their origin. Contrary to variability observed in field evaluation, seed-protein profiling through SDS-PAGE depicted low variation in chili accessions. The genetic variability among chili accessions observed in this study would be a good base line to devise a better crop improvement program in chili.