Crossing Experiment C.flexuosum

Not only are wild species useful in breeding for disease resistance, but they can be used to increase nutritional quality, yield and adaptation to stress (Bosland 1993). Interspecific hybridization plays an active role in the introgression of needed genes from wild species to commercial cultivars. Investigations of hybridization compatibility between Capsicum species can be helpful in determining the systematics of the genus Capsicum, and consequently, the improvement of cultivated varieties.

There is very little information available about crossings with C.flexuosum. Therefore WildChilli.EU starts a project to get more information on the "crossability". This project will start within a few months and we planned to do this together with Peperonciniamoci.it. Peperonciniamoci.it is an Italian forum with dedicated members who are willing to learn and share in the world of capsicums.

Because of lack of information on crossabilty we work by "trial and error". Below a list of available crossing species.

C. baccatum
C.tovarii
C.cardenasii
C.galapagoense
C.eximium
C.lanceolatum
C.rhomboideum
C.frutescens
C.praetermissum
C.chacoense

C.flexuosum belongs to the 2n=24 species but we will try to cross it with C.lanceolatum and C.rhomboideum who both belong to the 2n=26 species. It's most likely that hybrids are possible between C.flexuosum and C.baccatum.

Why C.flexuosum ?

C.flexuosum is one of the lesser-known species in the Capsicum gene pool, native to south-eastern Paraguay, south-western Brazil and north-eastern Argentina

cpDNA fragment polymorphism data place C. flexuosum into the "white-flowered group"(Buso ci al., 2002), karyotype analyses suggest that it could be the 2n=24 species closest to the taxa with 2n=26. The lack of crossing experiments and isozyme and DNA sequencedata for both species prevent further speculations.

C.flexuosum can tolerate temperatures far below 0 °C. There is information available that it can take up to -20 °C. Simple tests confirmed that it can tolerate temperatures up to approximately -10°C for short periodes. It's by far the most cold-tolerant Capsicum available