Evaluation of open-pollinated chilli lines for heterosis and combining ability under diverse Himalayan environments

Superior quality chilli for red ripe yield, processing, and pharmaceutical use is a major breeding objective in chilli. An experiment was conducted at three locations under diverse Himalayan agro-climatic zones. Twenty-one F₁ hybrids were developed by crossing seven diverse genotypes using a half diallel mating design to evaluate heterosis, combining ability and per se performance in a Randomized Complete Block design with three replications during summer 2021 and 2022. The open-pollinated varieties Him Palam Mirch 2, Punjab Guchhedar, Pusa Jwala and Pusa Sadabahar showed significant general combining ability for profitable red/dry fruit yield and most contributing traits. Ten F₁ hybrids were identified as superior for fruit yield and capsaicin content based on per se performance, significant heterosis, and specific combining ability effects. These included Him Palam Mirch 2 × Punjab Guchhedar, Pusa Sadabahar × DKC-8, Him Palam Mirch 2 × Him Palam Mirch 1, Pusa Jwala × Punjab Guchhedar, Him Palam Mirch 2 × Pusa Jwala, Him Palam Mirch 2 × DKC-8, Pusa Jwala × DKC-8, Surajmukhi × Pusa Sadabahar, Him Palam Mirch 2 × Pusa Sadabahar, and Him Palam Mirch 1 × DKC-8 across locations. A significant positive correlation of specific combining ability with economic heterosis and F₁ performance was observed for most of the traits. Beyond conventional heterosis analysis, this study integrates multi-location evaluation to identify hybrids with consistent performance and resilience traits. The dual utility of these hybrids for fruit yield and quality traits, along with their climate-resilient potential, provides new directions for chilli improvement programmes.