Abstract
Indo-Birmanian is considered as the domesticated region and primary center of eggplant diversity from where it spread to other secondary centers of diversity. In this study, the genetic diversity among 56 eggplant genotypes from three secondary centers of diversity (Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand) was assessed using 11 morphological traits. The experiment was laid in a complete randomized block design with three replications. A wide significant variation was observed for all the morphological traits, and highly significant differences among the three centers of diversity. High heritability and genetic advance was found for different traits i.e. fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit girth, fruit length to width ratio, average fruit weight, number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant, plant height and number of primary branches per plant. The selected best traits i.e. number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight and fruit yield per plant showed high heritability along with high genetic advance and less environmental influence but the high value of PCV and GCV. So these traits could be useful for selection criteria in the future breeding program. These results are relevant for evolutionary studies, breeding programs, and management of eggplant genetic resources.
 Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 28(1): 155-169, 2021 (June)
Highlights
Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is an important vegetable crop belonging to the Solanaceae family
All quantitative characters of this research showed a highly significant difference (P ≤ 0.01) among the accessions, countries, and accessions within countries (Table 3a-b) except days to first flowering. This result indicates that a significant amount of genetic variation present among accessions, countries, and accessions within countries
The trait days to first flowering showed no significant effect among countries
Summary
Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is an important vegetable crop belonging to the Solanaceae family. The eggplant name is obtained from egg-shaped fruit of some cultivars (Akhter et al, 2012) It is a perennial crop but commercially cultivated as an annual vegetable crop for its immature, unripe fruits which are used in making various types of cooked curries. It has high nutritive value, high market demand and the most cost-effective and profitable among other vegetables. For addressing breeding challenges and improvement of eggplant, the use of wide and exotic germplasm has been extensively adopted (Muñoz-Falcon et al, 2009) and a significant reduction in genetic diversity of modern black eggplants cultivars was reported. The evolution and domestication of eggplant has been studied using molecular, morphological and historical analyses
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