2014 ve 2015 yıllarında yürütülen çalışmada Kırşehir ili merkez ve köylerinden toplanan; 2014 yılı için 240, 2015 yılı için ise 313 biber genotipi içerisindeki 99 adet sivri biber genotipi fide çıkışından vejetasyon süresi sonuna kadar, toplam 48 agronomik ve morfolojik özellik bakımından, IPGRI’nin biber için yayınlamış olduğu tanımlama listesi ve UPOV kriterlerine göre karakterizasyon çalışması yapılmıştır. İncelenen karakterlerin minimum, maksimum, ortalama değerleri ve frekans yüzdeleri belirlenmiştir. Popülasyonlar arasındaki ilişkinin belirlenmesi amacı ile küme ve temel bileşen analizi uygulanmıştır. Uygulanan temel bileşen analizi sonucunda toplam 17 adet ana bileşen ekseni elde edilmiş ve bu eksenler toplam varyansın % 75.82’sini temsil etmiştir. Morfolojik ve agronomik özelliklere göre genotipler dendrogramda 15 gruba ayrılmıştır. Küme analizi sonucunda; S1, S2, S62, S3, S9, S67 ve TR69737 kodlu genotiplerin agronomik ve morfolojik akrabalık derecesi bakımından birbirine en uzak genotipler olduğu belirlenmiştir. Daha önce üzerinde hiçbir çalışma yapılmamış olan Kırşehir ili sivri biber genotiplerinin tanımlanmasının yapılması ile belirlenen biber popülasyonlarındaki genetik varyasyon gelecekte yapılacak biber ıslah çalışmalarında önemli avantajlar sağlayacaktır.

TMV (Tobacco mosaic virus) and TSWV (Tomato spotted wilt virus) are the most common virus diseases that causes loss of productivity in pepper cultivation. The most effective method in the fight against viral diseases is the use of resistant cultivars. This study was conducted to determine the similarities and differences of 120 Capia pepper lines in the S2 stage, consisted of local populations, standard and hybrid cultivars, in terms of morphological variation and to determine the resistance levels of the lines to TSWV and TMV. As a result of molecular analysis, genotypes 34, 35, 36, 46, 47, 48, 84, and 85 were found to be homozygous resistant to L4 allele and the Tsw gene. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to determine the relationship between the lines determined as a result of single plant selection. A dendrogram was prepared to evaluate morphological similarity between the lines. In the cluster analysis, 10 groups were identified based on 25 variables. The PCA explained 69.9% of the total variation based on 10 PC axes. At the end of the study, morphological variability was found high among the pepper lines. This evaluation of plant trait variability can assist geneticists and breeders to identify populations with desirable characteristics for inclusion in pepper breeding programs. In addition, the levels of resistance to these two diseases are crucial for breeding programs aimed at developing cultivars resistant to diseases.

Capsicum annuum (Capia), a member of the Solanaceae family, has a rich genetic diversity in fruit and plant traits. To select Capia pepper genotypes with desirable morphological traits for the development of new hybrid capia pepper varieties, this study aimed to characterize genetic accessions generated from local populations, and standard and hybrid cultivars using morphological characters. One hundred and twelve genotypes were identified using 15 morphological traits (11 qualitative and 4 quantitative) and quantitative traits were measured while qualitative traits were observed. Cluster and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to determine the relationship between the lines identified as a result of single plant selection. As a result of the cluster analysis, a dendrogram was prepared to evaluate the morphological similarity between the lines, and nineteen groups were identified based on 15 variables. In Principal Component Analysis, six PC axes explained 66.2% of the total variation. As a result of the study, high morphological variability was observed among pepper lines. This evaluation of plant trait variability can assist geneticists and breeders in identifying populations with desirable characteristics for inclusion in pepper breeding programs.

Starting breeding studies with genotypes known salt tolerance levels provides important advantages. In the study, it was aimed to determine the tolerance levels (0, 50, 100, 150 mM NaCl) of 30 promising pepper genotypes selected from the pepper genotypes selected, which were collected from Kırşehir province as a result of surveys. In order to determine the responses of pepper genotypes to different salt levels; plants were graded according to 0-5 scale evaluation for the symptomatic appearance of the genotypes, 50% flowering time, plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, stem and root fresh-dry weights, leaf relative water content, relative growth rate, the leaf membrane damage, chlorophyll and carotenoid contents. In addition, the analyzed parameters were evaluated in general and according to the degree of genotypes affected by salt stress; then, it was classified as tolerant, medium tolerant and sensitive. At the end of the experiment, it was determined that the growth and development of pepper genotypes were prevented by the increased salt doses, but the reactions to salt stress showed a wide variation in parameters. When the effects of applied salt doses on all parameters is evaluated in general; genotypes K86, D47, 2015-10, K80, D20, S67 and S65 were more tolerant to salt stress than others. These genotypes can be suggested for pepper growing and further pepper breeding studies in salty soil conditions.