Breeding for Resistance to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses and Quality Traits in Chilli

The Capsicum genus originated in Central America and includes approximately 35 species, which includes five domesticated species (C. annuum, C. pubescens, C. frutescens, C. chinense, and C. baccatum). Fruits owing to their bioactive compounds have various applications in spice, food, phytogenic feed, cosmeceutical, and pharmaceutical industries. Due to the rise in demand and climate change, the chili crop is affected due to the emergence of various pests and diseases, and there is a need to breed suitable varieties/hybrids with required fruit quality traits along with resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. There exists vast germplasm collected and conserved globally. Genetic resources of Capsicum for various traits have been identified and have been explored in developing commercial cultivars suitable for different segments of the market. Further wild species that were not explored must be deployed for the identification of novel alleles and their use in crop improvement programs. Conventional breeding through stringent phenotypic selection has successfully led to the development of resistant varieties/hybrids. However, with the advancement of genomic technologies, fast and precise marker discovery is enabling marker-assisted selection.