Stability analysis in chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) for yield and yield attributing traits

Abstract: Chilli, an important vegetable crop in India, is sensitive to environmental variations and climate change. An investigation was carried out to assess the stability of 25 test hybrids along with three commercial checks across different locations. The results of the study indicated that pooled analysis of variance showed the presence of significant genetic variability among the hybrids for all the characters studied. Variance due to hybrid × environment interaction was non-significant for all the characters except green fruit yield plant^-1. Considering all the stability parameters, CMS10A x Byadgikaddi for fruit weight and fruit width, CMS10A × Gouribidanur for green fruit yield plant^-1, CMS10A x LCA 206 for red fruit yield plant^-1 and CMS8A x Byadgidabbi for number of fruits were exhibited below average stability and these were specifically adopted to unfavorable locations. The test Hybrids, CMS6A × Tiwari for the character average fruit weight, CMS9A × LCA 206 for the character fruit width were well adopted to all environments. CMS10A × Gouribidanur proved to be the best yielding genotype among 25 test hybrids, having higher yield level than the check and were also stable for most of the characters as evident from their non-significant s²di values.