ABSTRACT
There are few varieties of commercial peppers for landscape use, although Capsicum germplasm banks in Brazil have accesses that can be used in breeding programs to create new ornamental peppers. The present study aims evaluate the genetic variability of pepper accesses in relation to their ornamental potential by a selection of indices. A total of 55 peppers accessions were used in the germplasm collection of Mato Grosso State University. The heritability of the studied variables showed that all the variables have high heritability. Fruit length and weight showed the highest heritability values with 99.88% and 99.67%, respectively. The selection based on Summa Rank-Based Index would result in plants with long fruits and peduncles, fruits with higher weight and wider, with leaves and petioles with longer lengths, and a reduction of other characteristics. The Base and the Classical Indexes are significant, as it would result in compact canopy and reduced plants, desired characteristics for ornamental plants. The index based on Summa Rank-Based Index permitted a great gain in pepper selection for ornamental purpose.
Key words:
Capsicum spp.; biometric models; selection gains