MSC

Brinjal, also known as ‘eggplant’ or ‘Guinea squash,’ is one of the most popular and commercial crop grown in India and other parts of the world. It is often referred as vegetable of masses and believed to have originated in Indo-Burma region. The main factor limiting the production of eggplant in the Indian sub-continent is the infestation of the Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer (BSFB) or Eggplant Fruit and Shoot Borer (EFSB) (Leucinodes orbonalis Guen.). Farmers mostly rely on chemical insecticides to control EFSB, which lead to massive pesticide overuse. The environment friendly method to minimize pest-related damage is Host Plant Resistance (HPR). However, to get a satisfactory yield in addition to being resistant to fruit and shoot borer, the varieties should be stable in performance over a range of environments.
The present study entitled “Stability analysis of hybrids and pedigree selection in brinjal (Solanum melongena) with resistance to shoot and fruit borer” comprised of two experiments. First experiment was an attempt to identify suitable high yielding hybrids resistant to shoot and fruit borer for general cultivation across three agroecological units of Pattambi, Vellanikkara and Vadakara. Materials used for the study comprised of four F1 hybrids (Ponni x Vengeri, Ponni x Arka Kusumakar, Haritha x Vengeri and Ponni x IC 618044) developed at Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, along with their parents and standard check for yield, Neelima. Field experiments were laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. The second experiment was conducted with the objective of evaluation of F2 populations of two crosses ( Ponni x Vengeri and Haritha x IC 624241) and pedigree selection for resistance to shoot and fruit borer. The experimental materials included two crosses (200 plants each), their parents and standard check, Neelima. Observations were recorded on eleven characters: number of flowers per plant, number of fruits per plant, number of infested fruits per plant, number of shoots per plant, number of infested shoots per plant, number of primary branches per plant, fruit weight (g), fruit yield per plant (g), marketable yield per plant (g), per cent fruit infestation and percent shoot infestation.
The recorded observations were subjected to individual location wise analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by pooled analysis of variance (pooled ANOVA) over



three locations. From the pooled ANOVA, the characters that exhibited significant genotype x environment (G x E) interaction were further assessed for stability using two models, Additive Main effects and Multiplicative Interaction effects (AMMI) model and the Genotype main effects plus Genotype-by Environment interaction effect (GGE) biplot. ANOVA revealed significant difference between genotypes for all the eleven characters considered. However, the error variances were homogeneous only for the characters number of fruits per plant, number of infested fruits per plant, number of shoots per plant, number of infested shoots per plant, fruit weight (g), marketable yield per plant (g) and per cent fruit infestation in Bartlett’s test. These seven characters were subjected to pooled ANOVA across three environments. Significant G x E interaction was observed in all characters considered and were hence forwarded for analysing with the stability.
The AMMI model with its additive as well as multiplicative formulations could interpret the complex G x E patterns effectively through the AMMI biplots. Genotypes were scored and then ranked, according to their Stability Index (SI) value computed on the basis of rank of AMMI Stability Value (rASV) and the rank of performance for each character (rY). It was observed that Ponni x Vengeri and Neelima with lowest score, ranked as the best and stable genotypes followed by Vengeri. The GGE biplot model enabled effective interpretation of genotype x environment interaction by providing visual understanding of genotype and test environment evaluation through mean versus stability graph, ranking of genotypes, ranking of environments and which-won-where analysis. On an overall basis, it was identified from GGE biplot method that Neelima, Vengeri and Ponni x Vengeri were the most stable and highly performing genotypes. Comparison of results from the two models of stability confirmed Neelima, Vengeri and Ponni x Vengeri as the most stable and promising genotypes that these genotypes can be evaluated in large fields so as to confirm with the results and for checking the suitability of genotype Ponni x Vengeri to be released as a variety.
In second experiment, F2 population of the cross Ponni x Vengeri exhibited wide range of segregation for all the characters evaluated. Correlation study revealed that marketable yield per plant (g) exhibited a significant positive association with number of flowers, number of fruits, number of shoots, fruit weight (g) and total yield (g), and a negative correlation with per cent fruit damage in the cross Ponni × Vengeri



and the yield could be boosted through selection based on these characters. Ten best performing plants having a marketable yield of more than 600 g were selected and can be forwarded to the further generations. But in case of the cross Haritha × IC 624241 none of the plants performed well. So this cross need not be forwarded for further improvement.