Variación fenotípica de morfotipos de chile (Capsicum annuum L.) nativo de Oaxaca, México

Farmers’ role is important for the selection and conservation of the local diversity of native peppers (Capsicum annuum L.), which are distinguished by pod shape, plant traits, and show high levels of biogeographic and cultural heterogeneity. Our objective was to evaluate the phenotypic variation and postharvest changes of fruits in six morphotypes of native peppers from the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico. Tis would contribute information on the diversity of pepper landraces. Collection and characterization of plant and fruits were undertaken for 52 samples grouped into six morphotypes, under a completely randomized block design with three repetitions under greenhouse conditions. At harvest time, pod samples were collected to evaluate their postharvest response using physical parameters. Significant differences (p<0.05) were estimated among and within morphotypes (Chile de Agua, Nanche, Piquin, Solterito, Tabaquero and Tusta) for plant height, stem diameter, fruit size, average fruit weight, fruit number, and pod yield per plant. A similar pattern was determined in the coordinates of color L*, a*, b*, chroma index, hue angle and weight loss, at harvest time and nine days after storage under room temperature. Also, significant differences (Wilks’ Lambda < 0.01) were determined by discriminant analysis based on morphological and postharvest traits, for the Mahalanobis’ distances among morphotypes. Therefore, each morphotype is a different phenotypic unit.