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IntroductionOrnamental peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) have the advantage of multipurpose use in fresh, spice, and pickle consumption, besides being pot and garden plants and cut flower arrangement species. Lately, interest and demand for ornamental peppers has increased. According to Stommel and Bosland (2006), ornamental peppers have begun to regain their previous popularity due to easy seed propagation, relatively short cropping time, and heat/ drought tolerance. The varied foliage color and colorful fruits characterizing ornamental peppers ensure a vivid summer garden display that rivals the chrysanthemum (Dendramthema grandiflora Tzvelev) for brilliant fall color (Stommel and Griesbach, 2005).Steadily growing interest has encouraged intensive breeding studies of ornamental peppers. When evaluated in terms of method, it was seen that the majority of these studies (

Doubled haploid (DH) plant production plays an important role in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) breeding for development of new varieties. However, information is lacking for DH plant production in pepper genotypes carrying ornamental value. The major goal of this study was to produce DH ornamental pepper lines having the mentioned value. Androgenic responses of 48 genotypes at the F 2 or F 3 generation were compared in each of three androgenesis protocols to determine the most effective method. Of the three protocols tested, anthers were placed on two different semisolid culture media and on a double-layer medium also called shedmicrospore culture medium. The results revealed that the shed-microspore culture protocol was superior to both semisolid anther culture protocols. The average numbers of total and normal-looking embryos per bud of the most responsive genotype were 102.90 and 34.11, respectively. We report here, a total of 122 regenerated ornamental pepper plants with ornamental value; 63 DH, 52 haploid, and 7 mixoploid plants were produced in the present study. The spontaneous diploidization rate was 51.6% based on flow cytometry analyses. The results showed that the shed-microspore culture protocol could be used effectively for the development of DH lines in ornamental pepper breeding programs.

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