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Target readership
The report intends to inform current and potential paprika growers and breeders of paprika of our progress towards the goal of providing the industry with superior material. In addition, we wish to inform these same groups of our progress towards developing efficient hybrid seed systems for capsicum.

Objectives
The objectives of the project were as follows:

1. Development of commercial cultivars of paprika for Australia, with a high proportion of the total yield in the first harvest, high dry matter content and high pigment content.
2. Provision of an alternative crop to farmers, especially vegetable growers.
3. Development of a paprika industry chain that will provide a new industry for Australia.
4. The development of breeding methods for rapid generation advancement.
5. Investigation and use of male sterility as a method of hybrid seed production.
6. Investigation of vegetative propagation of male sterile lines as a cost effective way to maintain male sterile stocks.

Methods used
Standard plant breeding technology has been employed such as crossing, selection, yield and pigment testing. First visual selection was employed through observations of the plant type in the field, with selection for upright plants with pendulous (hanging and swinging freely) paprika-type fruits, where the majority of fruit ripened at the same time; the fruit is detachable from the calyx and easily snapsoff from the stem. These characteristics are important for machine-harvest ability. Advanced lines carrying the detachability gene, identified in the previous project, have been field tested and further selected. High detachability refers to the easy removal of the fruit from the green fleshy calyx, while the snap-off trait relates to a fruit “stem” that easily breaks. Field trials of relatively stable lines were conducted to assess yield and to provide samples for quality assessment. Further testing and selection was conducted before seed increase and entry into commercial trials in grower’s fields. The key selection criteria were fruit yield, high quality (colour, aroma and taste), disease resistance and suitability of the crop for machine harvest.

The single seed descent (SSD) method was employed as a rapid technique for advancing generations for the first two years of the project. The SSD method involves growing single seeds from each population in each generation in small containers in the glasshouse, so that only a few fruit are formed quickly, and 2-3 generations can be grown per year. Following prior agreement SSD was discontinued in the final year of the project. This freed resources for an exploration of hybrid seed production based on male sterility (ms).

An important non-visual selection characteristic of paprika is the pigment concentration in the fruit.

This is measured using American Spice Trade Association units (ASTA). All the ASTA tests were conducted at Plant Breeder’s Institute-Cobbitty (PBI-Cobbitty), using the methodology developed in the previous project.

The planned examination of capsicum hybrid seed production is an extension of work begun by an earlier PhD student, who developed genetically ms materials. To increase the frequency of ms plants in a given population, intermediate crosses were made between ms individuals in the F2 generation and F1 plants carrying the recessive gene for ms. Segregation of F2 ms was observed and the presence of the gene ms3 was confirmed by pollen staining and pollen germination. Vegetative propagation was used to maintain the ms lines produced. Pollen staining, pollen germination, in vitro vegetative propagation and protein identification of ms lines was conducted in the laboratory.

Results
The continuation of conventional breeding led to the release of the cultivar “Cerise Sweet” with good paprika characteristics (high dry matter % and high extractable pigment content). In addition, several promising lines selected from stage 3 of the variety and strain trial (VS3) have been identified for possible Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) protection.

The SSD method worked well, enabling interspecific cross material to progress quickly to field trial.

Promising materials with paprika-like quality and excellent detachability were identified.

To establish a working system for the production of F1 hybrid capsicum seed two main issues must be addressed; these are increased frequency of ms plants in a given population and cost effective maintenance of ms stocks. In the first instance, male sterile plants were crossed with fertile plants derived from the same parent combination. In the second instance, ms individuals were propagated by cuttings. The cost effectiveness of this method of propagation is calculated and discussed later.

The findings of this study have application beyond paprika; they apply to the whole Capsicum genus, including the vegetable and ornamental sectors.

The Implications for stakeholders
Improved paprika cultivars, paprika germplasm, better breeding and propagation methods arising from this project are available to all stakeholders. The new interspecific materials developed can be advanced and used to breed paprika cultivars, alternatively they may be commercialised following further evaluation. The hybrid seed production results and the vegetative propagation of ms lines provide a basis for the establishment of a commercial hybrid seed production industry in Australia.

This would not be restricted to paprika alone, but could be applied across all Capsicum species.

Recommendations
The new cultivar “Cerise Sweet” protected by PBR, offers the industry significant advantages and could be promoted to interested growers. A commercial partner will need to be found to undertake the bulking up and commercialisation of “Cerise Sweet” and the submission of other promising lines for PBR testing.

Unfortunately, the paprika market is small in Australia and unlikely to grow significantly. In addition, the infrastructure required to produce dried and crushed condiment paprika for retail sale is expensive and not currently available to most growers. The hybrid F1 seed results are promising and a cost effective F1 hybrid seed production system can be established and applied to the much larger vegetable capsicum industry. However, combining ability and the identification of optimal heterotic combinations are still to be established.

Vegetable capsicum production is an important industry in Australia and hybrid seed is imported at significant cost from overseas suppliers. The findings of this research indicate that hybrid capsicum seed production is likely to be successful in Australia. We recommend that further work be undertaken to examine the transferability of these findings to vegetable capsicum production in Australia.

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