Capsicum Gene Bank of Southern Brazil R.L. Barbieri, G. Heiden, R.S. Neitzke, E. Choer, D.L. Leite and M.C. Garrastazú Embrapa Clima Temperado Pelotas, RS Brazil Keywords: ex situ conservation, landraces, genetic resources, biodiversity Abstract Many Capsicum landraces are cultivated in Brazil. Since 2002, pepper and sweet pepper landraces have been collected, conserved and characterized in a Capsicum gene bank maintained at Embrapa Clima Temperado, a research institution in southern Brazil. This gene bank is described in this paper. The geographic locations, common names, history of the collections and morphological description of the Capsicum accessions are recorded. Seeds are stored in a cold chamber at 4ºC. Plant cultivation in an experimental field allows species determination and seed multiplication. Morphological descriptors, as described by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, are used to characterize plants. The gene bank maintains 347 accessions, including 286 of C. baccatum, 22 of C. annuum, 15 of C. chinense, three of C. frutescens and 21 of unidentified Capsicum species. Eighty percent of the accessions are characterized and show high variation in fruit color, fruit shape and pungency within each species. Different common names are given to landraces by farmers. Generally, names are given according to fruit characteristics such as pungency, shape or colour. Pungent varieties are named pimenta (pepper), pimenta forte (strong pepper), pimentinha (small pepper), comari (bird pepper), malagueta and pimenta-de-cheiro (smelling pepper). Varieties without pungency are called pimenta doce or pimentão (sweet pepper). Pimenta-olho-de- pombo (pigeon eye pepper), pimentinha, pimentão-chapéu-de-padre (priest hat sweet pepper), pimentão-chapéu-de-bispo (bishop hat sweet pepper) and pimenta dedo-de- moça (girl finger pepper) are denominations based on fruit size and shape. Ornamental landraces are also conserved in the gene bank. The majority of the accessions (90%) were obtained in the southern Brazilian States of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná. INTRODUCTION The genus Capsicum (Solanaceae) comprises cultivated peppers and their wild relatives. All have origins in the Americas. Pepper was, probably, the first spice used by American Indians, conferring colour, flavour and aroma to foods. Meats and cereals became more attractive with their use. Peppers are also useful in preserving food, helping to protect against fungi and bacteria. After Portuguese and Spanish conquerors arrival to America in the XV th century, peppers were spread all over the world. Nowadays, they are an important dietary component of many countries. They are rich in vitamin C, antioxidants and other healthy compounds, preventing some diseases (Reifschneider, 2000). Brazil has a wide range of ecosystems and ethnical diversity, which result in a richness of landraces in each region of the country. Due to huge geographic distances, gene banks are distributed in different regions to make access to this diversity easier. To conserve and characterize genetic resources of pepper, with emphasis on landraces from southern Brazil, the Embrapa Clima Temperado Capsicum gene bank was created in 2002 (Heiden and Barbieri, 2004). The mission of this gene bank is to preserve genes that will be available for practical research, evaluation and breeding uses, focusing on germplasm from the south. This gene bank, holding 347 accessions, complements the collecting efforts of the other three gene banks in the country, which collect and conserve genetic resources in other Brazilian regions: southeastern (Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 319 VI th International Solanaceae Conference Eds.: D.M. Spooner et al. Acta Hort. 745, ISHS 2007