DUS Based Morphological Evaluation of Bell Pepper (capsicum Annuum L. Var. Grossum Sendt.) Germplasm for Identification of Promising Breeding Lines in Himachal Pradesh, India

Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum Sendt.) is a major Solanaceous vegetable crop exhibiting wide variability in fruit size, shape and colour, which are critical market traits. The present study aimed to evaluate genetic diversity among 34 advanced breeding lines of bell pepper along with two check varieties (California Wonder and Solan Bharpur) using 30 agro-morphological descriptors (13 qualitative and 17 quantitative) under DUS (Distinctness, Uniformity, Stability) guidelines. The experiment was conducted during 2022 and 2023 at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Significant variation was observed across morphological traits, with highest diversity index (H = 1.01) recorded for fruit shape in longitudinal section. Analysis of variance revealed substantial genetic variability and several genotypes (UHF-CAP-108, UHF-CAP-119, IIHR-131, UHF-CAP-106, UHF-CAP-113) significantly outperformed the better check variety Solan Bharpur for fruit yield per plant, producing medium-sized, blocky, glossy, dark green fruits with 3–4 lobes. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified six components explaining 83.08