The fruit yield and quality of hot pepper, Capsicum annuum L., is very low in Ethiopia mainly due to the lack of improved cultivars. The objective of this study was to evaluate the combining ability for yield and yield contributing characters in order to apply an appropriate breeding methodology for the improvement of yield and the contributing characters. Seven diverse cultivars, two local cultivars and five introduced promising inbred lines, were crossed in a half-diallel. The parents and F1s were grown at Melkasa Agricultural Research Center in 1999 and 2000. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications of ten plants per row. The green fruit yield and eight yield contributing characters were recorded from eight plants in each replication. The analysis of variance and estimates of GCA and SCA were significant for most of the characters studied. Significant GCA and SCA values were recorded for most of the characters, revealing that both additive and non-additive gene effects were involved in genetic control. A lower average degree of dominance was also recorded for some of the characters. Although none of the parents was a good general combiner for all the traits, some parents showed high GCA effects for some of the economic traits, suggesting that these parental lines could be considered simultaneously while formulating a breeding programme for improving fruit yield and yield contributing characters. The majority of the crosses also depicted significant SCA effects in the desirable directions.
Effects of blended fertilizer types and rates on fruit yield and nutrient use efficiencies of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) at Asossa, Western Ethiopia