Pepper (Capsicum sp.) is one of the extensively consumed foods worldwide and found in different forms. A field experiment was conducted using twenty-six locally collected accessions and four varieties during the off-season period from November 2016 to May 2017 under irrigation to assess the magnitude and extent of genetic variability, as well as the association of agronomic traits among some chili accessions and varieties and their contributions to yield. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications were used for this experiment. The analyses of variance (ANOVA) showed highly significant differences for almost all of the traits used in the present study except for fruit girth, pedicel length, and plant height. For yield components such as primary branches per plant, dry fruit yield per plot, fruit length, stem width, and number of fruit per plant, high genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) values were observed, as well as high heritability and genetic advance as percent of mean. High heritability along with high genetic advance as percent of mean was observed for primary branches per plant, stem width, fruit length, number of fruit per plant, and dry fruit yield per plot, indicating those traits are important to be considered for crop improvement in chilli pepper through selection.

Keywords: Capsicum annuum, Genetic advance, Heritability