Screening of Collection Eggplant Accessions for Performance and its Constituents
Authors: Marusiak A. O. , Serhiienko O. V. 
Published: December 2024

Abstract: The potential performance of eggplant accessions (31 accessions: 21 cultivars from 7 countries worldwide and 10 hybrids from 5 countries) was evaluated and genotypes were screened and monitored in comparison with reference accessions for the potential performance traits: performance, average marketable fruit weight, and number of fruits per plant. 32 sources of performance indicators were identified. By the "performance " trait, the following accessions were selected: 5 breeding-valuable collection cultivars - 'Daejeon Puurple' (1,656 g/plant), 'Zelkilo' (1,701 g/plant), and 'Long Violet' (1,782 g/plant), which yielded more than the reference cultivar, 'Almaz' (1,506 g/plant) by 9.9-18.0%, and 2 F1 hybrids – 'Izumrudnyi' F1 (1,459 g/plant) and 'Mari' F1 (1,323 g/plant), which yielded more than the reference accession by 89.9 and 81.5%, respectively. The study confirmed the value of reference accessions in breeding for performance: 'Almaz' (X̄ = 1,506.33 g/plant) and 'Bibo' F1 (X̄ = 1,623.00 g/plant). By the "average marketable fruit weight" trait, 14 valuable sources were selected for the breeding of high-yielding large-fruited genotypes: 10 cultivars - 'Marafonets' (217 g), 'Vironik' (220 g), 'Universal-6' (229 g), 'Long Violet' (241 g), 'Chornyi Krasavets' (266 g), 'Xingyuun' (311 g), 'Helios' (322 g), 'Rosa Bianka di Catania' (330 g), 'Daejeon Puurple' (455 g), and 'Zelkilo' (526 g); and four F1 hybrids – 'Briska' F1 (941 g), 'Klorinda' F1 (676 g ), 'Gordita' F1 (563 g), and 'Izumrudnyi' F1 (392 g). The heaviest marketable fruit weight was recorded for Chinese cv. 'Zelkilo' (527 g) and Italian hyb. 'Briska' F1 (941 g), which was 187-287% heavier than in the reference accessions, respectively. Three cultivars and a Chinese hybrid in the collection had the lightest fruits (Turkish cv. 'Turkish Orange' (66.9 g) and two Chinese cvs. 'Hangqi No. 1-2' and 'Hangqi No. 1' (76.1 and 79.3 g, respectively) and hyb. 'Puurple Dragon' F1 (94.6 g)). These accessions can be used in breeding large or small eggplants based on the "average marketable fruit weight" trait. By the "mean number of fruits per plant" trait, 13 valuable sources, which had a lot of fruits per plant in the three years of research, were identified for the breeding of high-yielding genotypes: nine cultivars and four F1 hybrids - cv. 'Vironik' (6.45 fruits/plant), cv. 'Long Violet' (7.35 fruits/plant), cv. 'Thai Long Green' (7.58 fruits/plant), cv. 'Hangqi No1' (11.99 fruits/plant), cv. 'Hangqi No1-2' (12.25 fruits/plant), cv. 'Turkish Orange' (13.19 fruits/plant), cv. 'Zelenenkyi' (8.69 fruits/plant), cv. 'Luisiana Long Green' (6.18 fruits/plant), cv. 'Lebedynyi' (5.88 fruits/plant), hy. 'Mari' F1, hyb. 'Puurple Dragon' F1, hyb. 'Piatachok' F1, and hyb. 'Halchonok' F1 (5.17-11.37 fruits/plant). Turkish cv. 'Turkish Orange' had the greatest number of fruits per plant (13.19 fruits/plant). These accessions can be used in breeding for increased numbers of eggplants per plant. The expression of the characteristics under investigation was relatively stable in the selected accessions and the values of these characteristics were high. The results of this study indicate a great diversity of the collection in terms of performance, which is confirmed by its medium (˃10%) to wide (˃20%) variation. It was found that the "performance" trait was moderately correlated (r=0.39-0.56) with one of its constituents, i.e. the "average marketable fruit weight". There was no correlation between performance and the "number of fruits per plant" trait (r=-0.09-0.04). Thirty-four 34 eggplant sources of increased performance and its constituents were identified; they are of practical importance in the breeding of cultivars and F1 hybrids suitable for growing in the northern forest-steppe of Ukraine. In this collection, there were no accessions that would combine all major performance indicators in one genotype; therefore, to increase the crop yield capacity and ensure food security, breeding research should be focused on this challenge.