Mapping for Axillary Shooting, Flowering Date, Primary Axis Length, and Number of Leaves in Pepper (Capsicum annuum)

A quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of pepper growth traits was performed using a doubled haploid (DH) population derived from a cross between two Capsicum annuum genotypes, a bell-type cultivar 'California Wonder' and a Malaysian small-fruited cultivar 'LS2341'. Simple sequence repeats and amplified fragment length polymorphism markers were used to construct a genetic map for this population. The map spans 1,213 cM, and consists of 15 linkage groups (LGs). The axillary shooting, flowering date, primary axis length, number of leaves on primary axis and mean internode length were evaluated in 94 F1DH families. Twelve QTLs were identified by interval analysis, and each QTL accounts for 14 to 34% of the phenotypic variation. Markers on chromosomes 2,3,12, and linkage group 8 (LG8) were associated with QTL for these traits. The present analysis revealed 2 loci for the growth traits in LG 8. One affected mainly axis length and had a minor effect on flowering, while the other had a large effect on flowering date and a smaller effect on axis length.