Screening brinjal varieties for wilt resistance

Abstract

Thirty six brinjal varieties including two wild ones were screened against bacterial wilt disease at Agricultural College, Vellayani, during 1975- 1976. Twelve varieties which were found to be disease free in the preliminary trial were subjected to artificial wilt infection under replicated trials and found that only one variety namely S. melongena var. insanum (wild brinjal) was resistant to wilt. Dipping of seedlings in fresh bacterial ooze just before transplanting was found to be equally effective in inducing the disease compared to the more complicated artificial inoculation methods.