Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance in Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)

Thirty five accessions of brinjal were assessed for variability for nineteen characters. Highly significant differences were observed among the accessions. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation was observed for number of fruits per cluster, number of fruits per plant, fruit length, fruit width, average fruit weight, fruit yield per plant, ascorbic acid content, total phenol content, shoot and fruit borer infestation indicating the existence of wider genetic variability for these traits in the germplasm. High heritability accompanied with high genetic advance was noticed for days to 50% flowering, number of flower clusters per plant, number of flowers per cluster, number of fruits per cluster, number of fruits per plant, days to last harvest, fruit length, fruit width, average fruit weight, fruit yield per plant, total phenol content, shoot and fruit borer infestation suggesting that they can be improved through direct selection due to predominant additive variation.