ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC VARIABILITY, HERITABILITY AND GENETIC ADVANCE IN BRINJAL (SOLANUM MELONGENA L.)

Fifty diverse Brinjal accessions were evaluated to estimate variability, heritability and genetic advance for thirteen biometric characters at Varagoorpettai village near Annamalainagar, Chidambaram during 2018-2020.High PCV and GCV were recorded for fruit yield per plant, number of fruits per cluster, seeds per fruit, individual fruit weight, leaf area, number of fruits per plant, fruit length, number of flowers per cluster and plant height while, low PCV and GCV was found for days to 50% flowering and days to first harvest.High heritability coupled with high genetic advance was recorded for plant height, leaf area, number of flowers per cluster, number of fruits per cluster, individual fruit weight, fruit length, fruit diameter, number of fruits per plant, seeds per fruit and 100 seed weight exhibiting that the traits are controlled by additive gene action.Therefore, direct selection may be followed for improving brinjal yield by examining these characters.