New Pepper Variety "Baltovska Kapia" – Awarded with a Diploma in the AGRAR 2026 Innovation Competition

Following a successful two-year trial for distinctness, uniformity, and stability at the Executive Agency for Variety Testing, Approval and Seed Control, the variety "Baltovska Kapia" was recognized as original and registered at the Patent Office (Certificate No. 11306 P2 dated 19.08.2024).

It is the first variety developed in Bulgaria with resistance to viral diseases. The variety belongs to the *Grossum* subspecies, the Long Pepper group, Kapia cultivar type.

It was created as a result of long-term complex breeding and improvement work at the "Maritsa" Vegetable Crops Institute and, in recent years, jointly with the Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology (CPSBB) through hybridization between a resistant and a susceptible genotype to the Tobacco mosaic virus from the breeder's collection, followed by multi-year backcrossing (over 20 years) with susceptible Kapia-type varieties (C. annuum) onto selected resistant plants in the backcross generations and subsequent repeated selection for resistance, morphological and economic traits. Participants in its creation are: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Velichka Todorova, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dimitrina Kostova-Protohristova, Chief Assist. Prof. Dr. Gancho Pasev, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivanka Tringovska-Mendeva, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Stanislava Grozeva – Tileva, Chief Assist. Prof. Dr. Vesela Radeva-Ivanova, Assist. Prof. Penka Filova, Prof. Dr. Tsanko Gechev.

The plants are 55 to 75 cm tall, with indeterminate growth, a sturdy stem, and form two to three primary branches. They have anthocyanin coloration on the nodes, as well as on the hypocotyl in the seedling stage. The leaves are green, ovate, pointed at the tip.

The fruits are of the Kapia type, pendant, single-pointed, with a non-enveloping calyx and a sweet taste. They are predominantly two-chambered, with a medium triangular shape in longitudinal section, and angular in cross-section. In technical maturity, the fruits are green, and in botanical maturity – red. They are 12 to 15 cm long, with an average base diameter of 4-5 cm, a fruit wall thickness of about 4 mm, and an average weight of 70 g.

The new variety is suitable for cultivation both under medium-early field production conditions and in cultivation facilities. It stands out from the parent variety Kurtovska Kapia 1 with a higher yield, from 12 to 25%. It is characterized by high productivity, with a total yield of 4500 - 5500 kg/da and stable, uniform resistance to the Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV, pathotype 0) under artificial inoculation.

The produce is intended for consumption in fresh and processed forms – roasting, blanching, purees, lyutenitsa, etc.

The new pepper variety "Baltovska Kapia" was awarded a diploma in the innovations competition, section "Scientific Activity and Developments" at the AGRRA agricultural exhibition held from 17-21.02.2026 in Plovdiv.

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