Characterization of native eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) germplasm of India for economic traits and variation assessment using SSR markers

Abstract

Characterization and periodic multiplication of germplasm collections conserved in gene banks are essential for their effective use in crop improvement. In this study, 404 eggplant accessions of Indian origin, conserved at the National Gene Bank, New Delhi, were characterized for nineteen agro-morphological traits of economic importance at ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi, and molecular diversity was evaluated using microsatellite markers. Substantial variability was observed for the number of fruits per plant (1–57.3), fruit weight (6.9–274.0 g), fruit yield (0–1976.2 g), fruit length (4.5–30.5 cm), fruit width (2.3–9.9 cm), and plant height (47.8–112.8 cm). Accessions with desirable traits across different fruit shapes were identified. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering revealed three major clusters based on fruit shape: long, oval/round, and oblong. The first five principal components explained 50% of the observed variance. Leaf length, leaf width, and fruit weight contributed most to Principal Component 1, while fruit curvature, fruit length, fruit shape, and fruit width were key for Principal Component 2. A diverse subset of 81 accessions (20% of the total) representing maximum allelic diversity was identified for practical field maintenance. SSR markers were effective in diversity assessment with an average PIC value of 0.425, and cluster analysis grouped accessions primarily by collection region. Combined morphological and molecular variation assessment supports the effective use of diverse eggplant accessions in future breeding programs.