Evaluation of mean performance, genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance in brinjal genotype (Solanum melongena L.)

Introduction

Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.), a member of the Solanaceae family, is a highly valued vegetable crop cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of India. Commonly known as eggplant, the term "brinjal" originates from Arabic and Sanskrit and is widely used in the Indian subcontinent. The name "eggplant" stems from certain varieties with white, eggshaped fruits. In Europe, it is often referred to as aubergine, a term derived from French (Pramila et al., 2015) [3] . Brinjal, also known as Guinea Squash is contain a diploid chromosome number of 2n=2x=24.Its center of origin was in the India and China is believed to be the secondary center of origin. Due to its high yield potential and widespread availability, it is often referred to as the "poor man's vegetable" (Kumar et al., 2014) [6] . Genetic diversity is critical in any crop improvement program because it aids in the selection of appropriate parents for hybridization, resulting in superior hybrids and desirable recombinants (Rathi et al., 2011) [15] . Moreover, evaluation of genetic diversity is important to know the source of genes for a particular trait within the available germplasm. Most important aspect of the genetic constitution of the breeding material is to understand the heritable variability more particularly its genetic component which has a close connection on its response to selection. High yield can be achieved by selection of characters that have high heritability coupled with genetic advance. Selection of one trait invariably affects a number of associated traits which evokes the necessity of determining inter-relationships of various yield components among them and with yield. Yield is a composite character and dependent upon a number of ascribes. For an effective selection, it is essential to have the association of various attributes with yield and yield attributing characters.

Materials and Methods

The experiment was conducted during the autumn-winter season of 2023-24 at the Main Experiment Station, Department of Vegetable Science, Aacharya Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India (26.77•N, 82.15•E).27 brinjal genotypes, including a check variety (IVBR-17), were evaluated using a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. Each plot consisted of five plants per genotype, with a net plot size of 3 × 1.2 m 2 , maintaining 60 cm between rows and 50 cm between plants. 15 traits were assessed: days to 50% flowering, days to first fruit harvest, number of primary branches, plant height (cm), dry matter (%), fruit length (cm), fruit width(cm), pedicel length (cm), number of fruits per cluster, average fruit weight (g), number of fruits per plant, total soluble solids (TSS, 0 Brix), ascorbic acid content (mg/100 g),total fruit yield per plant (kg), and fruit yield per hectare (q/ha). Data were recorded on five randomly selected plants per genotype in each replication. genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation (GCV and PCV) were estimated by using the formulae suggested by Burton (1952) [2] . Heritability in broad sense and expected genetic advance at 5% selection intensity were computed by using formulae suggested by Johnson et al., 1955 [4] .

Results and Discussion

The traits assessed included 12 quantitative parameters (e.g., fruit yield per plant, average fruit weight, plant height), 3 qualitative traits (e.g., TSS, ascorbic acid), all selected to capture genetic variability relevant to breeding and varietal improvement.

Mean performance

In this study, NDB 18-5 was the earliest genotype to reach 50% flowering (48.33 days), significantly earlier than the check variety IVBR 17, which took 50.00 days. NDB 19-15 also exhibited early flowering at 48.33 days, along with NDB 23-21 (51.67 days). additionally, other genotypes such as NDB 23-25 (54.00 days) and NDB 23-22 (52.33 days). NDB 19-15 was the fastest to reach first fruit harvest (66.67 days), followed closely by NDB 19-13 (67.00 days) and NDB 18-5 (69.67 days). These genotypes significantly outperformed the check variety IVBR-17 (67.00 days) in terms of reaching maturity more quickly. NDB 23-21 and NDB 23-22 also exhibited early fruiting, providing additional options for early-season harvests. Kashi Sandesh had the tallest plants, reaching an impressive height of 81.07 cm, followed by NDB 19-10 (85.53 cm) and NDB 23-25 (75.70 cm). On the other hand, NDB 23-21 exhibited a relatively shorter plant height of 60.47 cm, making it more compact and potentially easier to manage in small-scale farming operations. Genotypes like NDB 19-15 and NDB 23-25, which show moderate plant height. Similar findings were reported by Sivakumar et al. (2016) [17] and Kannan et al. (2017) [5] . NDB 18-10 (16.70) and NDB 23-25 (16.33) were found to produce larger fruits, with NDB 23-25 achieving a length of 16.33 cm. This genotype was considerably larger than the check variety IVBR-17 (14.20 cm). Other genotypes like Kashi Komal and NDB 23-21 also produced fruits with significant lengths. NDB 23-25 outperformed all others, producing 264 fruits per plant, followed by NDB 19-12 with 197.67 fruits per plant. Both of these genotypes significantly outperformed the check variety IVBR-17, which produced only 175.33 fruits per plant. NDB 23-25 produced the highest fruit yield per plant at 3.25 kg, followed by NDB 19-15 (2.87 kg) and NDB 18-5 (2.87 kg). These genotypes significantly outperformed the check variety IVBR-17, which produced 2.80 kg per plant. This shows that NDB 23-25 has the potential for high productivity and could be a preferred choice for large-scale cultivation in areas with higher market demand. NDB 23-25 showed the highest TSS value of 5.97%, which indicates a high sugar content in the fruit. This was followed by NDB 19-13 (5.53%) and NDB 18-6 (5.93%). These genotypes demonstrated superior fruit quality in terms of taste. NDB 23-25 showed the widest fruit at 6.37 cm, followed by NDB 23-24 (6.10 cm), and IVBR-17 (check) with a moderate fruit width of 4.07 cm. These results indicate that NDB 23-25 and NDB 23-24 exhibit superior fruit size compared to the check variety. In terms of breeding, NDB 23-25 and NDB 23-24 offer valuable traits for increasing fruit width, which is essential for boosting fruit quality and achieving higher commercial value (Kumar et al., 2014; Sarkar et al., 2017). NDB 19-13 had the longest pedicel, measuring 5.03 cm, followed by NDB 19-12 (5.03 cm) and NDB 23-25 (5.07 cm). In contrast, NDB 23-21 exhibited the shortest pedicel at 3.07 cm, which may provide an advantage in terms of reducing post-harvest losses due to reduced damage during handling. NDB 23-25 demonstrated the highest number of fruits per cluster at 16.33, followed by NDB 23-22 with 16.67 fruits. These genotypes produced more fruits per cluster compared to IVBR-17, which had 16.00 fruits per cluster. NDB 23-25 had the highest average fruit weight at 264.00 grams, followed by Kashi Komal (254.33 grams) and NDB 23-24 (232.80 grams). These genotypes showed superior fruit size compared to IVBR-17, which produced an average fruit weight of 175.33 grams. NDB 23-13 had the highest ascorbic acid content at 5.97 mg/100 g, followed by NDB 23-6 with 5.93 mg/100 g, and NDB 23-24 with 5.50 mg/100 g. In comparison, IVBR-17 had a lower ascorbic acid content at 4.20 mg/100 g. Higher ascorbic acid content in brinjal is an indication of improved fruit quality and nutritional value, which is essential for consumer health preferences. Genotypes like NDB 23-13, with superior ascorbic acid content, can be prioritized for breeding programs aimed at increasing the nutritional value of brinjal. (Foolad 2007; Mahajan et al., 2016) [3,9] . NDB 23-25 produced the highest yield per hectare at 298.59 quintals, followed by NDB 19-15 with 263.61 quintals. These results suggest that these genotypes are highly productive significantly outperforming the check variety IVBR-17, which yielded 256.92 quintals per hectare. These findings are in agreement with the results obtained by Vidhya & Kumar (2015) [22] and Akpan et al. (2016) [1] and Kannan et al. (2017) [5] . [20] and Sujin et al.

(2017) [20] (Johnson et al., 1955) [4] . Number of Primary Branches displayed high heritability (79.89%) coupled with a high GAM (26.66%), alongside a notable GCV of 14.48%. These parameters indicate a predominance of additive gene action, and suggest that substantial genetic improvement is achievable through direct phenotypic selection. Similar observations have been reported in earlier studies on Solanaceous crops (Panse and Sukhatme, 1967) [10] , reinforcing its utility as a selection criterion. Plant height exhibited moderate heritability (67.09%) with a GAM of 12.08% and moderate GCV (7.16%) and PCV (8.74%). These findings imply moderate selection efficiency, likely influenced by both additive and non-additive gene actions. Such findings are in conformity with the reports of Patel et al. (2015) [12] , Suranjna et al. (2017) [19] , and Parvati et al.

(2018) [11] . Dry matter content followed a similar trend, with moderate heritability (60.36%) and GAM of 9.01%. The moderate GCV and PCV values (5.63% and 7.24%, respectively) indicate the potential for genetic enhancement, though environmental effects are not negligible. Fruit length presented high heritability (83.36%) and moderate GAM (11.39%), suggesting that selection could be effective, although the difference between GCV (6.05%) and PCV (6.63%) points to some environmental influence. Fruit width displayed very high heritability (89.75%) and a remarkably high GAM (43.24%), with GCV and PCV values of 22.15% and 23.39%, respectively. These metrics indicate strong genetic control and potential for significant improvement through direct selection, consistent with findings in tomato and brinjal breeding programs (Verma et al., 2018) [21] (Rai et al., 2011) [14] .

Conclusion

The present study demonstrated substantial genetic variability among the evaluated brinjal genotypes across yield-related and biochemical traits. Genotypes such as NDB 23-25 and NDB 19-15 exhibited superior performance in terms of early maturity, fruit size, and yield potential (298.59 q/ha and 263.61 q/ha, respectively), significantly outperforming the check variety. High estimates of heritability (80.30% for yield per plant, 79.97% for yield per hectare), and genetic advance (30.60% and 31.22%) for traits such as average fruit weight, fruit width, and total fruit yield per plant suggest that these traits are predominantly governed by additive gene action and are amenable to genetic improvement through direct selection. The strong positive genotypic correlations of yield with traits like number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight, total soluble solids, and ascorbic acid content underscore their importance in selection indices for yield enhancement.

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