Chile peppers (Capsicum spp.) have traditional breeding cycles requiring hybridizations and then multiple generations of backcrossing and/or inbreeding, over several years, to establish genetically stable cultivars. Accelerating breeding cycles is essential to address global agricultural and industrial demands. Light conditions, specifically photoperiod length and luminous intensity, play a crucial role in plant development and serve as key factors in optimizing breeding efficiency. This study examines the effects of manipulating photoperiod and light intensity on four C. annuum genotypes: NuMex Lotalutein, NuMex Odyssey, NuMex Las Cruces, and Early Jalapeno. There were 5 plants per genotype per treatment, one treatment being normal greenhouse conditions and another a growth chamber with LED grow lights. Plants were monitored for key growth and developmental metrics, including germination speed and rates, and days to flowering. The measurements were recorded and analyzed using Tukey’s HSD in R (⍺ = 0.05). Results indicate that manipulating light duration and intensity promotes faster germination and earlier flowering, potentially expediting hybridization processes within breeding programs. By reducing generation time, these findings suggest that targeted light treatments can significantly accelerate cultivar development, facilitating more efficient breeding strategies for Capsicum improvement.
