Morphological characterization of Capsicum spp. germplasm. in the Instituto National de Innovación Agraria, Peru

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate and identify the morphological characteristics of four species of Capsicum spp. from the germplasm bankof the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation in Huaral, Peru. Methodology: Qualitative and quantitative character data ofCapsicum accessions from the germplasm bank of the Instituto Nacional de Innovacion Agraria (Peru) were entered into a matrixof accessions and characters to perform principal component analysis (PCA) and estimate variability among accessions. Toidentify groups of individuals by species, discriminant analysis was performed; a distance matrix between accessions wascalculated and the proximity between them was analyzed, which was visualized using the clustering method (UPGMA). Results:Morphological characterization revealed the discriminant power between quantitative and qualitative descriptors, which were:corolla color, calyx ring constriction, corolla spot color, number of flowers per axle, fruit shape with pedicel and calyx margin.They formed two hierarchical cluster groups, one between C. frutescens and C. chinense and another cluster between C. baccatumand C. annuum. Conclusion: The morphological characterization of Capsicum spp. from the Peruvian germplasm bank revealedhigh discriminant power for the quantitative and qualitative descriptors.