Abstract

Chili (Capsicum annuum L.) is grown for its high concentration of bioactive components and for imparting delicious flavors to cuisines. Surprisingly, the reduction in chili output throughout Pakistan over the last several decades emphasizes a need for sustainable farming techniques. Effective conservation measures are necessary to ensure the preservation of genetic resources. In this context, pot experiment was performed in greenhouse. According to the findings of the present study, exotic Capsicum Sweet slender showed a maximum plant height (54 cm), Romanian hot exhibited a greater leaf blade length (9.8 cm), and Kelly showed a greater leaf blade width (5.2 cm), petiole length (5.8 cm) and stem diameter (1.1 cm). Furthermore, Kelly showed maximum number of corolla (7) and stamens (7). The Capsicum Accession # 033828 showed uniqueness in terms of fruit length (11.7 cm) and pedicel length (4.6 cm). Considerable changes were recorded in plant features including leaf, flower, and fruit attributes. The PCA analysis indicated PC1-PC6 accounts for 75.87% of the variance and has an eigenvalue of 19.70. Traits such as seeds per fruit, fruit form, plant height, leaf area, branching pattern, and fruit color showed more variance. The UPGMA analysis clustered the selected Capsicum accessions into two major groups based on genetic relatedness. All reproductive characters including flower color, number of stamens and corollas, fruit color, fruit shape, fruit position, fruit surface, number of locules, seeds per fruit are crucial for characterization of chili germplasm. The study notably confirmed existence of tremendous genetic diversity within and between accessions of exotic chili in Pakistan and provides a basis for active conservation and future selection to develop improved local chili genotypes.