Breeding for Pepper yellow mosaic virus resistance and agronomic attributes in recombinant inbred lines of chili pepper (Capsicum baccatum L.) using mixed models

•Viral diseases cause significant losses in crops.•Genetic resistance is the most efficient control disease measure.•A new approach to develop recombinant lines resistant to virus was developed.•New cultivars candidates were identified based on genotypic value. In peppers, developing cultivars resistant to Pepper yellow mosaic virus (PepYMV) has been a challenge for plant breeders and plant pathologists. The present work reports the phenotyping and selection of recombinant F6 lines for PepYMV resistance and good agronomic performance. Forty-seven F6 lines of Capsicum baccatum var. pendulum were tested in two experiments. The first test evaluated the plants reaction to PepYMV and was carried out in anti-aphid screen coated cages, in a completely randomized design with eight replications. As for the second experiment, the agronomic performance of the lines was evaluated in field trial, in randomized blocks design with two replications, and with six plants per plot, arranged in sets. With a selection pressure of 25%, promising agronomic lines resistant to PepYMV were identified. One highly resistant line (#345) did not have good agronomic performance, while 15 other recombined lines were identified as resistant. Four lines (#232, #400, #414 and #506) were resistant and productive, able to be included in field competitive tests, generating new cultivars of C. baccatum var. pendulum resistant to PepYMV.