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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Charleston, South Carolina » Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #256651
Title: PA-560, A Southern Root-knot Nematode Resistant, Yellow-fruited, Habanero-type Pepper

Author
item Fery, Richard
item Thies, Judy

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/11/2011
Publication Date: 6/21/2011
Citation: Fery, R.L., Thies, J.A. 2011. PA-560, A Southern Root-knot Nematode Resistant, Yellow-fruited, Habanero-type Pepper. HortScience. 46(6):946-947.

Interpretive Summary: The increasing popularity of hot peppers in the United States has created intense interest in the Habanero, an extremely pungent type of pepper belonging to the domesticated Capsicum species C. chinense. Root-knot nematodes are major pests of Habanero-type peppers, and the ideal solution to this pest problem would be the use of resistant cultivars. In 1995, efforts were initiated at the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, SC, to transfer a root-knot nematode resistance gene from a Scotch Bonnet-type pepper into a yellow-fruited Habanero-type pepper. These efforts resulted in the 20 October 2009 release of the yellow-fruited, root-knot nematode resistant, advanced breeding line PA-560. PA-560 is recommended for use as a parental line by pepper breeders interested in developing yellow-fruited, root-knot nematode resistant cultivars of Habanero-type peppers. The dominant nature of the gene conditioning the root-knot nematode resistance trait makes PA-560 useful as an inbred parent for development of root-knot nematode resistant F1 hybrids.

Technical Abstract: The USDA has developed a yellow-fruited, Habanero-type pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) that is highly resistant to root-knot nematodes. The new breeding line, designated PA-560, is the product of a backcross/pedigree breeding procedure to incorporate a root-knot nematode resistance gene from the Scotch Bonnet-type accession PA-426 into a yellow-fruited, Habanero-type pepper. PA-560 was derived from a single F3 (BC4F3 x BC4F3) plant grown in 2005. It is homozygous for a dominant gene conditioning a high level of resistance to the southern root-knot nematode [Meloidogyne incognita (Chitwood) Kofoid and White], the peanut root-knot nematode [M. arenaria (Neal) Chitwood], and the tropical root-knot nematode [M. javanica (Treub) Chitwood]. PA-560 has a compact plant habit and produces a lantern-shaped, yellow-colored fruit. The results of replicated field studies conducted at Charleston, S.C., indicate the yield potential of PA-560 is comparable to that of traditional Habanero-type cultigens. A typical fruit weighs about 7.6 - 8.0 g and is 2.37 – 2.49 cm wide x 4.43 – 5.54 cm long; the fruit wall is thin (1.43 – 1.60 mm). The fruits are extremely pungent (326,710 Scoville heat units), and a typical fruit has three locules (average number of locules: 3.3). The root-knot nematode resistant PA-560 is recommended for use as a parental line by pepper breeders interested in developing yellow-fruited, root-knot nematode resistant cultivars of Habanero-type peppers. The dominant nature of the gene conditioning the root-knot nematode resistance trait would make PA-560 useful as an inbred parent for development of root-knot nematode resistant F1 hybrids.