The present study were conducted at Privet Farm in Sedi-Salim district, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Egypt, during two successive summer seasons of 2016 and 2017,to estimate the combining abilities, genetic components, heritabilities (broad and narrow sense) and genetic advance on sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Six parental genotypes and their fifteen F1 hybrids in a half diallel cross system were used.
The experimental genotypes were grown in randomized complete blocks design (RCBD), with three replicates on greenhouse. The traits were studied i.e., plant height (PH);branches number (BN); leaf area (LA); early and total yield traits as fruits number (FN) and fruit yield (Y); fruit length (FL); fruit diameter (FD);average fruit weight (AFW); locales number (LN);seeds number (SN); pericarp thickness (PT) and total soluble solids (TSS). The results revealed that, the mean squares for general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining abilities were highly significant for all the studied traits, suggesting the presence of both additive and non-additive gene effects in the inheritance of the various studied characters, except SCA for (BN), suggesting that its only controlled by additive gene effects. Moreover, the ratio of GCA/SCA showed that GCA effects was more important than SCA effects in all traits except LA and FN in early yield, Y in total yield, AFW and TSS since, SCA were greater than GCA. The majority of GCA effects obscure that these traits would positively respond to direct selection. While, the majority of SCA effects implied that these traits would positively respond to hybridization.
Conclusively, these results suggested that the hybrid vigour is available for commercial production of sweet pepper hybrid, and that
isolation of pure lines from the progenies of heterotic F1's is a possible way to improve the fruits yield and fruit quality.