Combining ability and gene action in chilli (Capsicum annumL.)

Thirteen parents (10 lines and 3 testers) and thirty crosses from line × tester design were evaluated in a randomized block design with three replication during Kharif 2010 and 2011. The results revealed that among the lines SC-23, SC-304, SC-108 exhibited desirable general combining ability effects for most of the traits, while among the testers the Arka Lohit was found to have significant general combining ability effect for number of fruits plant−1, average fruit weight, fruit length, yield hectare−1 and number of seeds fruit−1. In general, The specific combining ability variances were higher than general combining ability variances for all the characters indicating the predominance of non additive gene action. The crosses combinations SC-502 × Arka Lohit, SC-23 × Local, SC-814 × Local and SC-23 × Kashmir Long-1 were identified as good specific combiners for most of the traits.