Trait inheritance in pepper (Capsicum spp.) cultivars identified as resistant to green peach aphid (Myzus persicae)

The green peach aphid, here abbreviated as green peach aphid (GPA), is a significant global pest of pepper. Conventional insecticide use risks the development of resistance and harms beneficial insects, whereas the deployment of resistant pepper cultivars offers an effective, economical and eco-friendly management strategy. However, no GPA resistance gene has yet been identified in pepper. In this study, greenhouse and field screening for resistance to GPA in 24 pepper cultivars identified 'ZDC' as highly resistant and 'DYJJ' as highly susceptible. Subsequent inheritance analysis using these cultivars as parents showed that the segregation ratio of resistant and susceptible offspring was 1:1 for F₁ plants and 3:1 for F₂ plants. This indicated that pepper resistance to GPA was controlled by a single dominant gene. The highly resistant cultivar 'ZDC' may enable incorporation of resistance in future breeding programmes following further investigations to establish a fuller understanding of the genetics of GPA resistance in this species.