Assessment of genetic divergence through multivariate analysis in chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)

An experiment was conducted to analyze the genetic diversity among 63 genotypes for ten quantitative and six qualitative characters in chilli at Horticultural Research Station, Lam, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the genotypes for all the characters studied. Based on hierarchial cluster analysis, the 63 genotypes were grouped into 8 clusters. Among the clusters, cluster II was the largest containing 18 genotypes followed by cluster III with 15 genotypes and cluster VIII had only one genotype. The highest inter cluster distance was observed between cluster IV and VIII (7941.635) whereas the lowest was observed between cluster VI and VIII (2836.497). The Cluster VII exhibited highest intra cluster distance (614.548) and the lowest was observed in cluster VIII (0.00). The maximum contribution towards genetic divergence was shown by fruit diameter (44.14%) followed by yellow carotenoids (16.90%), red carotenoids (10.45%), ascorbic acid (10.19%) and capsaicin (9.17%). The principal component analysis revealed that first six principal components with eigen value more than one were observed to contribute 76.83 per cent towards the total variability. Among the six principal components, PC₁ contributed maximum towards variability (25.06%). Considering diversity pattern and horticultural performance, the genotypes Warangal chapatta, LCA-702, LCA-724, LCA756, LCA-353 and LCA-716 were identified as promising parents and could be utilized for efficient hybridization in chilli.