Genetic diversity of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) and its wild relatives

DOI: 10.37992/2023.1401.014

  • P. Lintu and Raji Vasudevan Namboodiri

Abstract

Genetic divergence analysis in brinjal genetic resources consisting of landraces, related cultivated species and wild relatives based on 22 morphological descriptors revealed distinct variation between cultivated and wild genotypes for the plant, flowering and fruiting characters. The multivariate D2 analysis grouped the 30 accessions into eight clusters revealing a clear separation of wild relatives and cultivated types. The characters fruit yield per plant, leaf size and fruit number had high contribution towards the genetic divergence. SM- 27 (cluster V), SM- 25 (cluster III) and  SM-23, SM-24,SM-20, SM-18, SM-10 and SM- 8 (cluster I) were the promising accessions identified based on superior performance for three yield attributes viz., fruit weight, number of fruits per plant and fruit yield per plant. The accessions SM- 25, SM- 27, SM- 28 (Solanum incanum) and SM-30 (Solanum insanum) of highly divergent clusters III, V and VIII respectively were identified as potential parents for future introgression breeding.

Keywords: Genetic divergence, cluster analysis, wild relatives, Solanum melongena

Published
31-03-2023
How to Cite
P. Lintu and Raji Vasudevan Namboodiri

Genetic diversity of brinjal Solanum melongena L. and its wild relatives

. 2023. Electronic Journal of Plant Breeding, 14 1, 137-147. Retrieved from https://www.ejplantbreeding.org/index.php/EJPB/article/view/4207
Section
Research Article