PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Green fruit yield is a complex quantitative trait influenced by several yield-related components, and understanding the relative contribution of these traits is essential for effective selection in chilli breeding. The present study was undertaken to assess the association of green fruit yield with yield-related traits among elite selections derived from five superior eight-parent multi-parent (MP) populations of chilli. The selected MP-derived populations comprised D4 × D3, D4 × D2, D5 × D2, D6 × D2 and D7 × D2. Elite progenies derived from superior plants within these populations were evaluated during the 2020 rainy season at the experimental farm of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru. Observations were recorded for average fruit weight, average fruit number plant^-1, average fruit length, average fruit width and green fruit yield per plant. Phenotypic correlation coefficients were estimated separately for each MP-derived population, while path coefficient analysis was performed using the pooled dataset to partition the correlations into direct and indirect effects. Average fruit number plant^-1 exhibited a strong and positive association with green fruit yield across all five populations. Average fruit length showed significant positive associations with green fruit yield. Path analysis revealed the highest positive direct effect for average fruit number plant^-1, followed by average fruit width and average fruit weight. The findings suggest that fruit number plant^-1 may serve as an important selection criterion for improving green fruit yield, with fruit length and fruit width serving as complementary traits depending on the genetic background of the population.