Genetic analysis of quantitative traits in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.)

Genetic diversity among 26 eggplant accessions was assessed using Mahalanobis D² statistics. Thirteen quantitative traits were tested for Principal Component analysis (PCA) for expression of variability. The PCA revealed that the first six PCs with eigenvalues >0.1 contributed for 89.1 per cent of total variation. The genotypes were classified into six clusters on the basis of genotypic variability. Cluster I was the largest comprising 13 genotypes. Highest inter-cluster distance was between clusters IV and VI (1328.6) and the least between cluster I and II (368.4), indicating their genetic relatedness. The average intra-cluster distance between the genotypes was maximum for cluster III (267.5). Fifty two per cent of total variation for morphological traits originated from first two principal components. Leaf length (L), leaf breadth, fruit diameter (D), fruit L/D ratio, diameter of pistil scar and plant spread remained key traits for maximum contribution to genetic diversity. Thus, hybridization among these genotypes can generate desirable transgressive segregates.