GENETIC DIVERSITY OF BRAZILIAN PEPPER BASED ON QUALITATIVE REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS

Abstract

In Brazil, pepper cultivation gives producers more marketing opportunities in various segments, either for fresh consumption or industry. Reproductive traits are efficient methods for comparing genetic divergence in pepper, once most differences among accessions could be verified at this stage. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic divergence in the reproductive phase of pepper accessions by multivariate analysis and test the efficiency of different methods. Sixty-five genotypes from the Federal University of UberlândiaCapsicum spp. Germplasm Bank were evaluated 145 days after sowing, and morphological characterization was performed at reproductive phase. Graphical representation of genetic distances was obtained by UPGMA. Tocher optimization method was also used to group accessions. Genotypes were arranged in seventeen different groups by Tocher method. UPGMA dendrogram collaborated with Tocher method, indicating the wide genetic variability of genotypes. Tocher and UPGMA methods were partially in agreement, allowing grouping 44 of the 65 analyzed accessionsequally. Multicategorical traits have the advantage of easy observation and require less time and labor, being ideal for use in gene bank and collections that do not have high human and financial resources. Moreover, these traits are not affected by the environment. Genetic divergence detected in this paper encourages other researchers to perform the characterization of pepper collections as completely as possible, because it becomes possible to generate more reliable information of the variability and genetic divergence among accessions. Our research discloses the reproductive biodiversity of pepper in “Alto Paranaíba” and “TriânguloMineiro” regions and the importance of maintaining these genotypes.