Morphological and cytological evaluation of pepper accessions is important for breeding and improvement programme on the crop. The lack of understanding on the genetic variation of pepper accessions has led to little progress in breeding and improvement of the crop. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to characterize some available pepper accessions based on morphological, agronomic and cytological characters and their suitability for subsequent use in breeding programme. The field experiment was conducted at GidanMangoro, Bosso Local Government Area,Minna, Niger State, in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The cytological investigation was carried out at the laboratory of the Department of Crop Production, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State. Data were collected on plant height, leaf length, leaf width, days to first flowering, days to 50 % flowering, fruit length, fruit girth, number of fruits, average fruit weight average seed weight and plant growthhabit. From Analysis of Variance, genotypic variance (GV), phenotypic variance (PV), genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), Phenotypic Coefficient of Variation (PCV),heritability and genetic advance were estimated. There were significant differences in the accessions studied. Analysis of variance for genetic diversity revealed that plant height, leaf width and all yield components studied contributed to genetic diversity. The highest heritability value was observed in average fruit weight per plant (98 %). Accessions DKD-RD and DG-SB performed best as characterized by early days to first flowering, number of fruits per plant, number of branches and fruit girth. The variance of component of variation result revealed that PCV values were greater than those of GVC. Also, genetic advance (GA) was higher than heritability. The cytological study showed that at meiosis, two daughter cells divides and formed four daughter cells thereby contributing to genetic variation. Based on the findings of this research work, it is recommended that breeders should collect germplasm from DKD-RD, DG-SB, DSKT-RD and DADAM for further breeding and improvement programme of the crop.
