Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF ANATOLIAN ENVIRONMENTAL AND ANIMAL SCIENCES, cilt.9, sa.3, ss.485-492, 2024 (Hakemli Dergi)
Capsicum annuum, native to Central America, particularly Mexico, is widely cultivated in Türkiye, which ranked as the fourth-largest global producer in 2020, contributing 2.6 million tonnes to the global pepper production of 36.1 million tonnes. In Türkiye, the fruits, whether unripe green or ripe red, are commonly known as "biber." This study investigated the morphological diversity of C. annuum in the Rize province of Türkiye, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative traits. In total, 48 diverse genotypes representing a range of colours, shapes, and sizes were collected in 2014 from the Pazar district and surrounding villages. The seeds were planted in May 2015 in trays containing a 2:1 mixture of peat and perlite under greenhouse conditions. Once the seedlings developed 4-5 leaves, they were transplanted into the field in June 2015 for further growth and evaluation. Morphological traits of fruit were analysed using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering, revealing significant variability among genotypes. Key traits such as fruit length, width, and colour were found to differ considerably. This morphological diversity is crucial for identifying and selecting genotypes with desirable traits, offering valuable insights for geneticists and breeders to promote the conservation and utilisation of diverse C. annuum genotypes in future breeding programmes