Performance of Thirty: Evaluation of Thirty-one Accessions of Long Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum Frutescens L.) from South-western Nigeria

Thirty-one accessions of Long Cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutesens L.) collected from Southwestern Nigeria were evaluated at the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, during the first and second cropping seasons of 2008. Experimental design was randomized complete block with three blocks. Differences among accessions for emergence percentage which ranged between 52.2 % and 86.7 % in the first season and 36.7 % and 75.0 % in the second season were significant (P>0.05). Correlation between emergence in the first and second seasons was very low (r =0.06) and not significant (P>0.05). Twenty-nine (of the thirty-one) accessions had significantly (P>0.05) lower emergence percentage during the second season compared with the first season. There were no significant differences among accessions for days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering, days to first fruit appearance and days to 50 % fruiting. Flowering was attained earlier in the second season, when plants were exposed to short days, than in the first season; days to first fresh flower appearance averaged 113.2 in the first season and 88.6 in the second season.