Genetic Improvement for Disease-resistant Chili Peppers

Summary

Chili peppers face persistent threats from fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases that cause significant yield losses globally. Traditional breeding programs have long sought to incorporate disease resistance from wild Capsicum relatives into commercial varieties, with anthracnose and Phytophthora root rot among the most economically damaging targets.

Advances in genomic tools — including marker-assisted selection, QTL mapping, and CRISPR-based genome editing — have accelerated the identification and transfer of resistance genes. Research published in 2022–2023 highlighted chromosome P5 as a major genetic hotspot containing multiple QTLs associated with Phytophthora resistance, opening new avenues for precision breeding of resilient chili cultivars. The goal is to produce improved varieties that protect farmers' livelihoods while reducing dependence on chemical fungicides.