NS pepper varieties in a multivariate fruit analysis

Peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) have a very diverse use in Balkan cuisines and Serbia is no exception. Different ways of consumption has come as a result of various types, colours and sizes of peppers. The aim of this study was the phenotypic evaluation of 16 pepper varieties. Ten pepper varieties were selected at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad (IFVCNS), and 6 were domesticated pepper varieties from the IFVCNS assortment. The trial was conducted in field conditions on chernozem soil in 2016. The experiment was established in a randomized block design with three replications. Five fruits per replicate were used for a phenotypic evaluation. The varieties were characterized for 7 quantitative and 5 qualitative fruit traits. The principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify the most significant traits and to show distances between the varieties in a biplot. The cluster analysis was applied to show similarities between the varieties and to create common groups. In the PCA biplot all pepper varieties were grouped into five groups, but in the cluster analysis, they made six groups. The biggest group in both analyses consisted of bell peppers. Those multivariate analyses are suitable to represent differences and similarities among pepper varieties visually.