Evaluation of 130 Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) Genotypes for Future Breeding Program Based on Qualitative and Quantitative Traits, and Various Genetic Parameters

Md Shalim Uddin,Akbar Hossain,Rozina Afroz,Sajia Rahman,Majid Alhomrani,Nasrin Jahan,Md Golam Hossain,Abul Bashar Mohammad Khaldun,Shamim Ara Bagum,Ahmed Gaber,Masum Billah,Md Golam Azam,Md Sorof Uddin,Mohammad Abdul Latif Akanda,Neelima Hossain

doi:10.3390/horticulturae7100376

Abstract

Eggplant is an essential widespread year-round fruit vegetable. This study was conducted using 130 local germplasm of brinjal to select diverse parents based on the multiple traits selection index for the future breeding program. This selection was performed focusing on 14 qualitative and 10 quantitative traits variation and genetic parameters namely, phenotypic and genotypic variance (PV and GV) and genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation (GCV and PCV), broad-sense heritability (hBS), genetic advance, traits association, genotype by trait biplot (G × T), heatmap analysis and multi-trait index based on factor analysis and genotype-ideotype distance (MGIDI). Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance revealed a wide range of variability for morpho-physiological traits. Estimated hBS for all the measured traits ranged from 10.6% to 93%, indicating that all the traits were highly inheritable. Genetic variances were low to high for most morpho-physiological traits, indicating complex genetic architecture. Yield per plant was significantly correlated with fruit diameter, fruits per plant, percent fruits infestation by brinjal shoot and fruit borer, and fruit weight traits indicating that direct selection based on fruit number and fruit weight might be sufficient for improvement of other traits. The first two principal components (PCs) explained about 81.27% of the total variation among lines for 38 brinjal morpho-physiological traits. Genotype by trait (G × T) biplot revealed superior genotypes with combinations of favorable traits. The average genetic distance was 3.53, ranging from 0.25 to 20.01, indicating high levels of variability among the germplasm. The heat map was also used to know the relationship matrix among all the brinjal genotypes. MGIDI is an appropriate method of selection based on multiple trait information. Based on the fourteen qualitative and ten quantitative traits and evaluation of various genetic parameters, the germplasm G80, G54, G66, and G120 might be considered as best parents for the future breeding program for eggplant improvement.

Highlights

Eggplant or brinjal (Solanum melongena L.; 2n = 2x = 24) is considered a rich member of the species Solanaceae, which contains approximately 1300 species
Regarding the hBS and GA index [62], which were greater than 60% for high, 30–60% for moderate, and 0–30% for low, we discovered that all traits were highly heritable together with a high genetic advance mean value except DFF, implying that direct selection can be effective for eggplant crop improvement based on these traits with the effect of additive genes; a more or less similar result was obtained by many researchers [63,64]
The current study clearly established that the improvement of brinjal yield and related traits can be obtained through selection with the valuation of different genetic parameters analysis

Summary

Introduction

Eggplant or brinjal (Solanum melongena L.; 2n = 2x = 24) is considered a rich member of the species Solanaceae, which contains approximately 1300 species. Horticulturae 2021, 7, 376 in diversified climatic conditions of various ecological regions. It possesses high species richness with considerable flexibility of phenotypic adaptability that made the species the most important vegetable economically. Eggplant is a widespread vegetable that grown from the subtropics to the Mediterranean region, popularly in Asia, Africa, and the southern part of the USA, with significant production in 2019 globally (55.15 million tons).

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Discussion

Conclusion