One of the main challenges in pepper production is to enhance seed germination energy and germination, and to grow healthy nursery plants with strong root system. Trichoderma species colonize roots as they grow and provide season-long benefits to plants, which is why Trichoderma species are widely used as plant growth promoter agents and promoters of plant defence mechanisms. This study evaluated the effectiveness of seed biopriming with Trichoderma isolates for growth promotion of pepper plants in early stage and their effects on seedling physiology. Nine out of ten Trichoderma isolates positively affected root weight of pepper seedlings, while three out of ten positively affected shoot weight. Root and shoot lengths were mainly unaffected. Germination energy was positively affected by five isolates with up to 40% increase compared to the control, while germination was significantly enhanced by two isolates with up to 22% increase. Considering seedling physiology, two different strain-dependent modes of actions were expressed. Promising Trichoderma isolates induced formation and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which acted as signal molecules that increased germination energy and germination. Positive correlation was found between pyrogallol peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase activity and germination in plants treated with these isolates.

Pepper is very popular vegetable crop in Southeast Europe and in Serbia as well. Wide genetic variability is essential in pepper breeding programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate variability for the most important fruit traits and differences between 28 sweet pepper genotypes from the working collection from the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops (Novi Sad, Serbia). The following traits were analyzed: fruit weight (g), fruit length (cm), fruit diameter (cm), fruit index, number of locules, number of apexes, pericarp thickness (mm), and total soluble solids (?Brix). Results confirmed great variability in evaluated pepper fruit traits. Genotypes were separated into individual groups based on fruit characteristics. According to our research, hierarchical cluster analysis represented differentiation among groups of genotypes more clearly than PCA, but not comparing to k-means. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed the similarity between genotypes, but k-means clustering did not. Genotypes from group 3 will be used in breeding for higher fruit weight and group 6 for thicker pericarp.

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the major vegetable species in the world. In Balkan cuisines, as well as in Serbia, pepper has a very diverse use. Knowledge about consumer preferences is of great importance for a breeding process as well as in the market-orientated production. Because of the lack of information about consumer preferences towards pepper types, in the Serbian market, the present research was conducted. Four hundred and two participants, classified into groups, according to gender, age and education, answered the survey questions. According to this research, the most preferred pepper type in Serbia is kapia, while the bell pepper is the second chosen type. Also, it was revealed that the most favourite colour of pepper fruit is red. There is a tendency for higher importance of fruit type rather than fruit colour. The highest percentage of hot pepper consumers prefers medium hot peppers. The obtained trend shows that women generally prefer less spicy pepper fruits than men.

Early blight is one of the most common and destructive tomato disease and it is caused by the fungus Alternaria solani. The aim of this paper was to screen the reaction of ten tomato genotypes (collection of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops) against natural infection of early blight. Tested genotypes showed significant differences in the disease occurrence on leaves but not on fruits. However, at the biochemical level, total phenolics (TP), tannins (TT), flavonoids (TF) and antioxidant activity in tomato fruits was significantly affected by genotype, disease occurrence and interaction of these two factors. According to obtained results, content of these secondary metabolites could be used as a one of the parameters in the evaluation of tomato resistance to EB.