Evaluation of open-pollinated chilli lines for heterosis and combining ability under diverse Himalayan environments.

Superior quality chilli for red ripe yield, processing, and pharmaceutical use is a major breeding objective in chilli. An experiment was conducted at three locations under diverse Himalayan agro-climatic zones. Twenty-one F1 hybrids were developed by crossing seven diverse genotypes using a half diallel mating design to evaluate heterosis, combining ability and per se performance in a Randomized Complete Block design with three replications during summer 2021 and 2022. The open-pollinated varieties Him Palam Mirch 2, Punjab Guchhedar, Pusa Jwala and Pusa Sadabahar showed significant general combining ability for profitable red/dry fruit yield and most contributing traits. Ten F1 hybrids were identified as superior for fruit yield and capsaicin content based on per se performance, significant heterosis, and specific combining ability effects. These included Him Palam Mirch 2 × Punjab Guchhedar, Pusa Sadabahar × DKC-8, Him Palam Mirch 2 × Him Palam Mirch 1, Pusa Jwala × Punjab Guchhedar, Him Palam Mirch 2 × Pusa Jwala, Him Palam Mirch 2 × DKC-8, Pusa Jwala × DKC-8, Surajmukhi × Pusa Sadabahar, Him Palam Mirch 2 × Pusa Sadabahar, and Him Palam Mirch 1 × DKC-8 across locations. A significant positive correlation of specific combining ability with economic heterosis and F1 performance was observed for most of the traits. Beyond conventional heterosis analysis, this study integrates multi-location evaluation to identify hybrids with consistent performance and resilience traits. The dual utility of these hybrids for fruit yield and quality traits, along with their climate-resilient potential, provides new directions for chilli improvement programmes.