Brinjal Cultivation Research Articles

First report of a Jujube witches’‐broom phytoplasma (16SrV) strain associated with witches’‐broom and little leaf disease of Solanum melongena in India

Solanum melongena (aubergine or brinjal; family Solanaceae) is a popular vegetable grown extensively in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, Japan, Philippines, Egypt, France, Italy, and the United States (Chadha et al., 1993). Brinjal's cultivation is hampered by the Brinjal little leaf (BLL) phytoplasma. A phytoplasma survey was conducted in various brinjal production areas of Hoshangabad in Central India (Figure 1) during May 2019. Phytoplasma-like symptoms such as proliferation of axillary shoots, witches’- broom, excessive branching, little leaf and the absence of flowers and fruits when compared to symptomless brinjal plants were observed (Figure 2). For molecular detection of phytoplasma, total DNA was isolated from diseased and symptomless leaf samples (100 mg). The phytoplasma 16S rRNA gene was amplified by direct PCR using P1/P6 primers (Deng & Hiruki, 1991) and nested PCR with universal primers R16F2n/R16R2 (Gundersen & Lee, 1996), producing amplicons of the expected size (c. 1.2 kb) for the diseased (4/4) samples but not from the symptomless plant tested. Two nested PCR amplicons were purified (Wizard SV gel extraction kit; Promega, USA) and sequenced bidirectionally (Bioinovations Pvt. Ltd., India). The consensus partial 16S rRNA gene sequences were identical and the sequence data was submitted to GenBank, Accession Nos. MW025971 (BR01) and MW025257 (BR02). BLASTn analysis showed that the sequence shared 99% sequence identity with the 16S rRNA gene sequence of Jujube witches'-broom phytoplasma (MH972556, MH972553, MH972548) and ‘Candidatus Phytoplama balanitae’ (HG937644, LT558785, MH819290), Periwinkle yellows phytoplasma (EU375835) and the Elm yellows group (16SrV). Phylogenetic analysis (MEGA v 7.1) showed the closest relationships with strains of Jujube witches'-broom phytoplasma (MH972556, H744152 and MH972548) and ‘Ca. P. balanitae’ (LT558785), a member the group 16SrV, ‘Ca. P. ulmi’ (Figure 3). Six phytoplasma ribosomal groups (16SrI, 16SrII, 16SrIII, 16SrVI, 16SrIX, 16SrXII) have been associated with S. melongena globally. BLL phytoplasmas were first reported in India in 1995 (Schneider et al., 1995). In India and Japan, a BLL phytoplasma was identified as a member of the group 16SrI, ‘Ca. P. asteris’ (Kumar et al., 2012). The group 16SrVI, ‘Ca. Phytoplasma trifolii’ was also associated with BLL symptoms in India (Yadav et al., 2015). However, this is the first report of a ‘Ca. P. ulmi’ strain (group 16SrV), associated with a witches'-broom disease of brinjal in India. This finding has a significant impact for future epidemiological studies since brinjal could be an alternative host for 16SrV phytoplasma strain which affect several other important vegetable crops cultivated in Hoshangabad, Central India. The authors would like to thank to the Head of the Department of Microbiology and Vice Chancellor, Barkatullah University, Bhopal for support and encouragement.

Farmers’ constraints and extension strategies for increasing the adoption of recommended plant protection practices in brinjal cultivation

Brinjal is a major vegetable crop grown in Tamil Nadu and it is one of the crops that uses the most chemicals for pest control. Though agricultural scientists and extension personnel are emphasizing on merits of Integrated Pest and Disease Management (IPDM) methods, the adoption of IPDM is limited among farmers as they faced with multi pronged challenges. The major constraints faced by farmers in adoption of the recommended practices and extension strategies to improve the adoption by the farmers are described in this study. Ex-post facto research design was adopted and the research was carried out with 120 brinjal growers purposively selected from two blocks of Salem district in Tamil Nadu. Nearly half of the brinjal growers (45.83%) felt that high incidence of pest and non-availability of predators, traps (45.00%) were the prime constraints. Multi disciplinary approach to research, educating people are some of the methods suggested.

Effect of plastic mulches on performance of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) in temperate Himalaya

The brinjal is a very important crop of Indian plains commonly grown throughout the year. A number of high yielding varieties and hybrids have been evolved to increase yield in this crop. In addition to improved cultivars, advances have also been made to develop cop management practices including fertilization, irrigation and weed control for boosting the productivity in this crop. Commercial cultivation of brinjal in hills is confined only to lower hills up to 1000-1200m altitude due to quick fall down of temperature in late Kharif and severe winter at higher altitudes (>15000m).

Evaluation of Yield and Quality Attributes of Grafted Brinjal under Treated Paperboard Mill Effluent Irrigation and Sludge Application

Field experiment was conducted to assess the impact of paperboard mill sludge compost and treated paperboard mill effluent irrigation on growth and yield of grafted brinjal. Among the different treatment combinations, application of phosphorus enriched ETP sludge compost at 5 t ha-1 along with treated effluent through drip irrigation and recommended level of NPK (200:150:100 kg NPK ha-1) resulted the highest brinjal yield of 42.7 t ha-1. There were no adverse effects on soil properties due to sludge compost application and treated effluent irrigation. Quality attributes of the fruits which include anthocyanin content, total phenol content, ascorbic acid content, titrable acidity and protein content were not affected due to the composted sludge application along with treated effluent irrigation. Thus, the treated effluent and the composted sludge which complies with the state pollution control board norms can be used as a viable alternative source of irrigation and nutrients for grafted brinjal cultivation without adversely affecting on crop quality.

Phytotoxic effects of varying concentrations of leather tannery effluents on cotton and brinjal

The influence of varying concentrations of tannery wastewater was studied on cotton and brinjal plants. Tannery effluents were provided at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% concentrations and data for various growth, biochemical and ion attributes were recorded successively at 20, 40 and 60 days after effluent treatments. Plant treated with different effluent exhibited a prominent reduction in growth traits of root and shoot at all three harvests. Maximum inhibition in growth was evident at 50% effluent application followed by 40% and 30% respectively. The increasing effluent concentrations inversely inhibited NRA activity and reduced total soluble proteins in both the plant species. A concentration dependant bioaccumulation of chromium and sodium was recorded while potassium and calcium ions exhibited reduction. Brinjal plants had higher Cr bioaccumulation (at all harvests) compared with cotton plants. In an overall assessment, irrigation with tannery effluents at all concentrations especially at 40% and 50% concentrations were toxic for both cotton and brinjal cultivation and it is further proposed that leather tannery effluent should not the used for irrigation of agricultural fields.

Consortia of entomo-pathogenic fungi and bio-control agents improve the agro-ecological conditions for brinjal cultivation of Assam.

A liquid consortial formulation with three compatible biocontrol agents viz., Trichoderma harzianum, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae was prepared with already standardized additives (Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat, Assam). Pot and field experiments conducted to test the efficacy of six different IPDM (Integrated Pests and Disease Management) modules with the prepared consortia showed that module-6 (seed treatment + seed bed treatment in nursery + soil application in main field + seedling dip treatment with consortia of biofertilizer, Rhizobium sp., Azotobacter sp. strain 52, Azospirillum sp. strain 71 and Bacillus sp. strain 5W + spraying of consortia) was the best for the management of three important diseases of brinjal viz., Phomopsis leaf blight and fruit rot, Alternaria leaf spot, and Fusarium wilt. Field experiment repeated in the second year ustilizing six different modules revealed the module 6 as best in reduction of disease incidence and increasing the growth parameters and yield of the crop. Result of pooled analysis of field experiments showed a yield of 570.97q/ha with B:C ratio 3.99. The module was also found effective in improving the nutrient status with significant increase in P and K status of soil as well as microbial biomass carbon in both the years of experimentation (2014-2015 and 2015-2016). The module can be used by the farmers for organic cultivation of brinjal after further confirmation in multi locations of diverse agroecological condition of Assam.

Host Preference, Mode of Damage and Succession of Major Insect Pests of Brinjal

Brinjal is one of the most popular solanaceous vegetables worldwide because of its nutritive and nutraceutical values. In recent decades, brinjal cultivation has been experiencing increased biotic and abiotic stresses due to the climate changes, which had affected the cultivation practices, growers’ profit and consumers’ choice to a larger extent. Amongst different insect pests, brinjal shoot and fruit borer (BSFB) is the major one causing significant reduction in economic yield followed by epilachna beetle, aphid, jassid and whitefly. On the other hand, proper knowledge on nature of damage, host preference, and seasonal abundance of insect pests is a pre-requisite for development and deployment of an appropriate, effective and timely management strategy against the pests. A pool of literatures on host preferences, damage pattern and succession of major insect pests of brinjal has been reviewed and presented in this paper.

Effect to standardize the best treatment combination of organic and inorganic source for better growth and yield of Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)

The present experiment was carried out during 2018 to 2020 in Departmental Research Field of Department of Horticulture, SHUATS, Prayagraj. The experiment was conducted in Randomized Block Design (RBD), with ten treatments and each replicated thrice. The treatments were T0:Control, T1:100% N@ Poultry manure, T2:100% N @ Vermicompost, T3:100% N @ FYM (Kg), T4:50% N + 50% P @ Poultry manure, T5:50% N + 50% P @ Vermicompost, T6:50% N + 50% P @ FYM, T7:25% RDF + 100% @ Poultry manure, T8:25% RDF + 100% @ Vermicompost and T9:25% RDF + 100% @ FYM. On the basis of present investigation it is concluded that the treatment T7 25% RDF + 100% @ Poultry manure is proved as a best combination of different organic and inorganic fertilizer for the improvement of brinjal cultivation through organically; where treatment T7 25% RDF + 100% @ Poultry manure significantly enhances the growth, flowering, fruit yield and quality traits of brinjal. The maximum benefit cost ratio (1:3.85) was found in T8.

Impact of Bt Brinjal Cultivation in the Market Value Chain in Five Districts of Bangladesh.

Eggplant (brinjal) is a popular vegetable that provides an important source of income for small, resource-poor Bangladeshi farmers. The biggest constraint to brinjal production is the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB). This study was conducted in 2019 in five districts in Bangladesh and examined the impacts of using genetically engineered, insect-resistant brinjal (Bt brinjal) on its value and marketing. Based on a survey of Bt and non-Bt farmers, results indicate that Bt brinjal provided an average of 19.6% higher yield and 21.7% higher revenue compared to non-Bt varieties. On a per tonne basis, the revenue benefit of using Bt brinjal was 1.7%, reflecting different levels of acceptability among trade buyers and consumers. Some were prepared to pay higher prices for Bt brinjal compared to non-Bt brinjal because the fruit was less damaged, while others paid a price discount because the Bt brinjal was not available in preferred local varieties. Labor use, expressed in 8-h days, for harvesting, grading, and packaging of Bt brinjal was 14% higher for Bt brinjal, reflecting the increased yields of Bt brinjal. 83.1% of Bt brinjal growers were satisfied with the yields obtained, and 80.6% were satisfied with the quality of fruit. This contrasts with non-Bt brinjal growers where 58.7% were satisfied with their yields and 28% indicated that a large portion of their fruit was infested, not a concern for Bt brinjal. Three-quarters of Bt brinjal growers planned to plant Bt brinjal next season because of the apparent benefits achieved of higher yields, revenue and fruit quality. Many also highlighted the benefits of reduced insecticides. Of the non-Bt growers, 39.6% had not heard of Bt brinjal. However, after hearing more about the impact of the technology, 71.4% of them indicated they planned to grow Bt brinjal next season. These findings suggest there are significant benefits of Bt brinjal and highlight the importance of making the technology available in more varieties that are suitable to local conditions and consumer preferences. Additional studies are warranted to corroborate these findings and explore in more detail the factors influencing decisions made by farmers and consumers regarding Bt brinjal.

Effect of moisture conservation technology in cultivation of brinjal under rainfed condition of Bundelkhand region

An adaptive research on effect of moisture conservation technology in cultivation of brinjal under rainfed condition of bundelkhand region was carried out by following randomized complete block design in participatory mode with 10 famers having three technology options (Plastic mulch, Straw mulch and No mulch) of Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh during cropping seasons of kharif, 2018-19 and 2019-20. The observations recorded revealed that the highest saving on weed management and water management were observed in plastic mulching followed by straw mulching. Fruit yield and benefit: cost ratio were also recorded higher in crop having mulch (plastic followed by straw) than no mulch. On the basis of observations recorded it was concluded that mulching is a useful technique to minimize the competition between crop and weed and water stress during long rainfall interval. This technique may help the farmers to minimize the cost of cultivation and maximize more benefits.

On-farm Evaluation of Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed System with Plastic Mulch for Brinjal Crop

An on-farm experiment was conducted on farmers’ field in two villages of Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh to evaluate the effectiveness of mulched and non-mulched furrow irrigated raised bed(FIRB) system over farmers’ practice of check basin irrigation for brinjal crop. The system performance was assessed in terms of crop physiological parameters, water saving, yield, water productivity and cost of cultivation. Mulch significantly affected the physiological parameters of crop like plant height, number of branches, girth, root depth, leaf area and fruit weight. Results revealed that the water savings under furrow irrigated raised bed system without mulch (T2) and with mulch (T3) was 167.7 mm (31.2 %) and 237.0 mm (44.1 %), respectively, as compared to farmers’ practice (T1). Significantly higher brinjal yield (21.29 t.ha-1) was observed in T3, which was 26.7 % higher over T1. Higher yield and comparatively lesser application of irrigation water resulted in significantly high water productivity (88.49 kg.ha-mm-1) in T3 as compared to T1 (31.34 kg.ha-mm-1). The average benefit-cost ratio (BCR) for the treatments T1, T2, and T3 were 2.21, 2.58 and 2.62, respectively. Furrow irrigated raised bed cultivation of brinjal with black plastic mulch is recommended to the farmers of central Uttar Pradesh to achieve twin objectives of improved crop yields and increased water productivity.

Quantifying postharvest loss of brinjal: A farm level study in Bangladesh

Brinjal (Eggplant) is a very common and popular horticultural crop in Bangladesh. This study reports on quantification of farm level postharvest loss of brinjal in two intensive growing districts Jamalpur and Rangpur of Bangladesh. It also outlines the determinants of brinjal postharvest loss and problems of brinjal farmers. A total of 144 farmers were considered for the study from purposively selected four villages. Total postharvest loss was quantified by evaluating quantitative and qualitative losses of brinjal. Farmers were found well acquainted with a range of postharvest practices such as definite point and stage of brinjal harvesting, sorting, grading and packaging. Morning was the most preferred time for harvesting and selling of brinjal in the survey areas. Distance selling and motor driving van for local selling were used by 25% and 23% of the respondents. Physical damage and physical appearance were the two basic criteria for grading of brinjal at farm level. Among the problems, absence of storage and lower prices of brinjal scored highest PFI 208 and 181, respectively from the possible range of 0 to 216. Farm level postharvest loss of brinjal was 13.90% of total production where full damages accounts for 9.16% alone. Infested by insect and rotten were the primary causes of full damages of brinjal in the survey area. The 4.73% of the total postharvest loss was due to partial damages of brinjal where skinning and bruising constitutes the maximum share. Due to postharvest loss brinjal farmers have to incur financial loss of Tk. 709.05 per decimal of brinjal cultivation. Total harvested amount, farmer’s education, packaging and selling place were found significant factors for postharvest loss of brinjal in the survey area. It is recommended that government, research institution and Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) should work jointly to educate farmers against postharvest loss of brinjal in Bangladesh.
 
 J Bangladesh Agril Univ 17(4): 454–460, 2019

On-farm Evaluation of Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed System with Plastic Mulch for Brinjal Crop

An on-farm experiment was conducted on farmers’ field in two villages of Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh to evaluate the effectiveness of mulched and non-mulched furrow irrigated raised bed(FIRB) system over farmers’ practice of check basin irrigation for brinjal crop. The system performance was assessed in terms of crop physiological parameters, water saving, yield, water productivity and cost of cultivation. Mulch significantly affected the physiological parameters of crop like plant height, number of branches, girth, root depth, leaf area and fruit weight. Results revealed that the water savings under furrow irrigated raised bed system without mulch (T2) and with mulch (T3) was 167.7 mm (31.2 %) and 237.0 mm (44.1 %), respectively, as compared to farmers’ practice (T1). Significantly higher brinjal yield (21.29 t.ha-1) was observed in T3, which was 26.7 % higher over T1. Higher yield and comparatively lesser application of irrigation water resulted in significantly high water productivity (88.49 kg.ha-mm-1) in T3 as compared to T1 (31.34 kg.ha-mm-1). The average benefit-cost ratio (BCR) for the treatments T1, T2, and T3 were 2.21, 2.58 and 2.62, respectively. Furrow irrigated raised bed cultivation of brinjal with black plastic mulch is recommended to the farmers of central Uttar Pradesh to achieve twin objectives of improved crop yields and increased water productivity.

Biological control of Phomopsis leaf blight of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) with combining phylloplane and rhizosphere colonizing beneficial bacteria

Beneficial phylloplane colonizing bacteria (PCB) and rhizosphere colonizing bacteria (RCB) were evaluated individually and in combinations for plant growth promotion and control of Phomopsis leaf blight of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.). Bacteria from the leaf surface of brinjal plants were isolated and screened, and four PCBs were selected based on their ability to colonize phylloplane and inhibit the growth of Phomopsis vexans. All PCB and RCB strains were characterized for their beneficial traits and their leaf and root colonizing ability were confirmed through SEM. Under greenhouse conditions, individual applications such as seed treatment with Pseudomonas putida Has-1/c (RCB) and foliar application of Bacillus subtilis Br/ph-33 (PCB) significantly increased the plant growth and leaf surface area, respectively. Among 16 combinations of PCB and RCB tested, seed treatment with Pseudomonas fluorescens 2apa-pf followed by foliar application of B. subtilis Br/ph-33 significantly increased root length (6.3cm) and shoot length (23.2cm), fresh weight (2.51g) and dry weight (0.373g) of seedling. Individual application of PCB strains recorded significant decrease in disease incidence and severity over control. Among various combinations tested, Has-1/c+Br/ph-11 significantly reduced the disease incidence (18.0%) and severity (0.54) in comparison with distilled water treated control (91% and 6.0). The results suggested that combined application of biocontrol agents is more efficient in improving plant growth and controlling the disease over their individual application. The research findings could be beneficial in replacing agrochemicals in brinjal cultivation and also promising in suppressing leaf blight disease caused by P. vexans in brinjal.

Response of Different Doses Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on Vegetative Growth, Yield and Yield Components of Brinjal (Solanum MelongenaL.)

A field experiment was conducted at Chitrakoot, Satna (M.P.), during the Rabi season of 2008–09 to study the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on growth and yield of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) with the objective to find out the best combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers on growth and yield of brinjal for this region. Soil of the experimental field was sandy loam. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design having 14 treatments comprising of organic manures (farmyard manure, goat manure and vermi-compost) and inorganic fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) applied either alone or in combination. Combination of vermi-compost @ 10t ha−1 + 75% RDF (N: P: K @ 90: 60: 37.5 kg ha−1) recorded maximum plant height, number of leaves and branches per plant, leaf length, stem diameter, number of flowers and fruits per plant; length, diameter and weight of fruit; fruit yield per plant, per plot and per hectare; gross return, net return and cost: benefit ratio. Vermi-compost @ 10 t ha−1 + 75% RDF (N: P: K @ 90: 60: 37.5 kg ha−1) emerged as superior over all the other treatments in relation to growth, yield and yield attributing components, and finally economic returns for cultivation of brinjal under the agro-climatic conditions of this region.

Technical and Economic Feasibility of Solar Pump Irrigations for Eco-friendly Environment

This paper presents the technical and economic suitability of solar pump irrigations of rice and no-rice crops. Four submersible solar pumps (1050 Wp) were installed in different locations of Bangladesh for irrigating rice, wheat and vegetables. The solar pump was used for drip irrigation and furrow irrigation for cultivation of brinjal and tomato during 2010-13. Water savings by drip irrigation over furrow irrigation for brinjal and tomato were 53.25% and 56.16%, respectively. For cultivation of wheat about 430mm water was required and the yield was 3.00 t/ha. Water required for boro rice cultivation in Magura was 1024mm and in Barisal it was 1481mm. Cultivations of solar irrigated wheat (BCR 2.31), tomato (BCR 2.22) and brinjal (BCR 2.34) were economically profitable but boro rice was not economically profitable (BCR 0.31). Diesel engine operated irrigation pump emits carbon dioxide but solar pump is an environment friendly irrigation technology.

Yield and impact analysis of training and FLDs regarding scientific cultivation of brinjal

Yield and impact analysis of training and FLDs regarding scientific cultivation of brinjal

Socio-Economic Study of Brinjal Growers in Relation to Develop Bio-Intensive Pest Management Strategy for Red Lateritic Zone of West Bengal

In the red lateritic zone of West Bengal, brinjal is very popular crop among the farmers and it is normally grown as a Rabi crop. Among the various constraints of the low productivity of this crop, the incidence of insect pests is a major one, which not only reduces the returns, but also affects biosphere due to the excessive use of pesticides to control the pests. A brief idea about the socio-economic as well as plant protection status of the brinjal growers of red lateritic zone of West Bengal is essential to develop some bio-intensive integrated pest management strategies against this dreaded pest. Thus, a study was formulated in exploratory research design on the brinjal growers of the region with the following objectives: to know the socio-economic status of the brinjal growers in the study area, to explore the usual plant protection measures taken up by the growers against pests of brinjal and their knowledge regarding the latest plant protection methods and to study the economics of brinjal cultivation in the study area. Hundred farmers were selected through simple random sampling method (without replacement) as respondents from seven blocks of Birbhum district of West Bengal, which comes under red lateritic zone. Data were collected with the help semi-structured interview schedule, prepared by Asian Vegetable Research Development Centre, Taiwan, after minor modification. The study revealed that the farmers’ knowledge and practices to control the pests of brinjal were much more conventional in approach and it violated the principles of integrated pest management practices on the issue of sustainability of the crop in the region. The relatively higher educational and land holding status, long farming experience of the brinjal growers can be proved as relative advantage in terms of designing and dissemination of bio-intensive pest management strategy for the brinjal crop in the study area.

English

Heterosis has been amply exploited in developing hybrids in brinjal. In India, only 17.8% area of brinjal cultivation is under hybrid seed due to lack of appropriate hybrids for specific area and purpose. In the present investigation, 14 parents were selected on the basis of divergence and mated in line (L) × tester (T) design hybrids and parents were raised to measure heterosis for different yield attributes. 40 hybrids resulting from a L × T mating design comprised of 10 lines (female) and 4 testers (males) were studied to determine the magnitude of heterosis and genotypic correlation between yield and yield characters. Expression of superiority over the commercial check occurred in 7 crosses, which ranged from -56.36 (L3 × T4) to 34.07% (L7 × T2). The hybrid (L7 × T2) had good heterosis values for growth and yield and is recommended as the most promising combination for developing high yielding hybrid eggplant varieties. Most crosses involving T2 as tester parent had significant positive heterosis over the mid-parent and standard variety. There were strong correlations between fruit yield and numbers of branches per plant, average fruit weight and number of fruit per plant. Path analysis indicated that plant height, number of branches per plant, fruit length, fruit pedicel length, number of fruit per plant, average fruit weight and little leaf incidence had direct and positive effects on yield per plant, but negative and direct effects occurred for days to first flowering, fruit circumference, calyx length, shoot borer infestation, fruit borer infestation, ascorbic acid content and total phenol content. Simple selection would be effective for improvement of fruit yield.   Key words: Solanum melongena, association analysis, hybrid vigour.

Changes in Actinomycetes community structure under the influence of Bt transgenic brinjal crop in a tropical agroecosystem.

BackgroundThe global area under brinjal cultivation is expected to be 1.85 million hectare with total fruit production about 32 million metric tons (MTs). Brinjal cultivars are susceptible to a variety of stresses that significantly limit productivity. The most important biotic stress is caused by the Brinjal fruit and shoot Borer (FSB) forcing farmers to deploy high doses of insecticides; a matter of serious health concern. Therefore, to control the adverse effect of insecticides on the environment including the soil, transgenic technology has emerged as the effective alternative. However, the reports, regarding the nature of interaction of transgenic crops with the native microbial community are inconsistent. The effect of a Bt transgenic brinjal expressing the bio-insecticidal protein (Cry1Ac) on the rhizospheric community of actinomycetes has been assessed and compared with its non-transgenic counterpart.ResultsSignificant variation in the organic carbon observed between the crops (non-Bt and Bt brinjal) may be due to changes in root exudates quality and composition mediated by genetic attributes of Bt transgenic brinjal. Real time quantitative PCR indicated significant differences in the actinomycetes- specific 16S rRNA gene copy numbers between the non-Bt (5.62-27.86) × 1011 g-1 dws and Bt brinjal planted soil (5.62-24.04) × 1011 g-1 dws. Phylogenetic analysis indicated 14 and 11, actinomycetes related groups in soil with non-Bt and Bt brinjal crop, respectively. Micrococaceaea and Nocardiodaceae were the dominant groups in pre-vegetation, branching, flowering, maturation and post-harvest stage. However, Promicromonosporaceae, Streptosporangiaceae, Mycobacteriaceae, Geodermatophilaceae, Frankiaceae, Kineosporaceae, Actisymmetaceae and Streptomycetaceae were exclusively detected in a few stages in non-Bt brinjal rhizosphere soil while Nakamurellaceae, Corynebactericeae, Thermomonosporaceae and Pseudonocardiaceae in Bt brinjal counterpart.ConclusionField trails envisage that cultivation of Bt transgenic brinjal had negative effect on organic carbon which might be attributed to genetic modifications in the plant. Changes in the organic carbon also affect the actinomycetes population size and diversity associated with rhizospheric soils of both the crops. Further long-term study is required by taking account the natural cultivar apart from the Bt brinjal and its near-isogenic non-Bt brinjal with particular reference to the effects induced by the Bt transgenic brinjal across different plant growth stages.