2.1. Experimental material
Five parental lines namely, BCCH Sel-4, BCC-1, Kashi Anmol, AC-
575 and Chaitali were selected on the basis of their divergence
values. True-selfed seeds of five lines were sown in well-prepared
seed bed of 20 cm height and 1.0m wide having sandy loam
soil. Seeds, after treatment with Thiram (3 g/kg of seed), were
sown during the 3rd week of August, 2012 at a shallow depth
of 5 cm and covered with finely sieved well rotten leaf mould.
From sowing to germination the seed beds were left covered with
straw for nine days and hand watered regularly up to 1st week
of September, 2012. Nursery beds were covered with 200 m
ultraviolet (UV)-stabilized polyethylene film supported by bamboo
poles with open sides to protect seedlings from rains and direct
sunlight. Seedlings were hardened by withholding water 4 days
before transplanting. Twenty five days old seedlings were transplanted in the crossing block during 2nd week of September, 2012
to obtain F1s. Parents were crossed in diallel fashion excluding
reciprocals and hybrid seeds were collected for the next year evaluation.
In 2013,the samemethod was followed for raising the seedlings
of 5 parental lines and 10 hybrids and one-month-old seedlings
were transplanted in the main field during the 2nd week of
September, 2013. The parents and hybrids were arranged in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications at 50 × 50 cm
spacing with 36 plants for each replication in a 3.0 × 3.0m plot.
A highly susceptible landrace ‘Beldanga Local’ was planted and
maintained around the experimental plots to ensure sufficient
virus inocula. Standard cultural practices were followed as per
Chattopadhyay et al. (2007). Spray of systemic insecticides was
avoided in and around the experimental area to build up a reasonable amount of white fly (B. tabaci Gen.) population, the vector
of pepper leaf curl virus (PepLCV).
2.2. Experimental data
Data on days to 50% flowering, days to 50% fruiting, plant height
(cm), and number of primary branches per plant were recorded, on
individual plant basis, from 36 plants of all plots at 50% blooming stage. Samples of fifteen randomly selected green fruits per
plot were taken to measure the fruits characteristics; i.e., fruit
length (cm), fruit girth (cm), number of seeds per fruit and test
weight (100-seed weight, g) from each replication. All harvested
fruits of each plant were counted and weighed to determine average number of fruits per plant and total weight of fruits per plant
which was recorded as fresh fruit yield per plant (g). The ascorbic acid content (mg/100 g) of fresh fruit was estimated using
2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol method (Casanas et al., 2002). For
analysis of capsaicin 0.5 g of dry chilli powder was extracted with
10mL dry acetone (acetone free from water obtained after treatment with anhydrous Na2SO4) by shaking for 3 h in a mechanical
shaker, the contents centrifuged at 10,000 × g for 10min, and the
supernatant evaporated to dryness in a hot water bath. The residue
was re-dissolved in 5mL 0.4% sodium hydroxide solution and 3mL
3% phosphomolybdic acid solution. The contents were shaken by
hand and kept aside for 1 h and then centrifuged at 5000 × g for
15min and the absorbance of the blue color supernatant measured at 650 nm against a reagent blank. The content of capsaicin
was calculated using a calibration curve against a high purity capsaicin (SadasivamandManickam, 1996). The beta-carotene content
(mg/100 g) of green fruit was estimated as per the method of
Ranganna (2001).