Evaluation of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) Genotypes for Drought Tolerance Using Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) 6000

Chilli is an important vegetable and spice crop in India. It is cultivated under both irrigated and rainfed conditions. Most of the local genotypes are grown in rainfed conditions and they are known to withstand drought to some extent with lowered yield. Since chilli varieties or hybrids are not developed for drought tolerance, an experiment was conducted to evaluate 34 genotypes of chilli collected from different regions for drought tolerance using polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG-6000). Four genotypes viz., Arka Lohit, Arka Abhir, Byadgi Kaddi, and Byadgi Dabbi were used for standardization under different PEG concentrations from 2% to 12%. The 10% PEG was used as the optimum concentration based on the results of germination percent, root length, and shoot length. Among thethirty-four chilli genotypes screened using 10% PEG on the basis of highest germination percent, root length and shoot length chilli genotypes viz., Arka Lohit, DB variety, and Dappa were found superior over other genotypes.