Anthesis, anther dehiscence, pistil receptivity and fruit development in the Longum group of Capsicum annuum

Little attention has been paid to the events associated with fruit producti on such as flowering and seed set in chilli peppers despite this species be ing a major horticultural crop. To address this deficit, we examined flower ing phenology in the cv. Red Hot Glory, a representative of the Longum grou p of peppers. Measurements of bud length and width showed that these charac teristics can provide an effective index of the number of days required by a bud to reach anthesis. Anthesis itself mainly occurred during the morning with a second, smaller peak of flower opening in the afternoon. Measuremen ts made in spring and summer suggested that the daily start of anthesis is controlled by daylength. In flowers that opened before 1700 hours, anther d ehiscence took place 1 h after the buds opened; in flowers that opened late r, dehiscence was delayed until the following morning. This pattern of anth er dehiscence suggests that this event is partially controlled by the flowe r's endogenous rhythms. Controlled pollinations showed that the period of f emale receptivity, as judged by seed set, lasted from 5 days before anthesi s to 3 days after anthesis with maximum fertility occurring on the day of a nthesis. Therefore, bud pollinations are possible, and, for maximum seed se t, should be made as close to the day of anthesis as possible. This study h as provided baseline data that will aid the production of new, hybrid culti vars and will facilitate further studies on the factors affecting fertility in this species.