Phenotyping of recombinant inbred lines for phomopsis blight in Brinjal

Phomopsis blight and fruit rot caused byPhomopsis vexans is one of the major constraints to eggplant cultivation in the country. The present investigation was undertaken for screening of the 82 brinjal RILs in F6 generation that have been derived from the cross W-4(resistant parent) × Giant (susceptible parent), developed for resistance to Phomopsis blight of brinjal. Severity of the disease was assessed by ten-point disease rating scale. The inoculated plants were regularly examined for appearance of symptoms starting from 24 hours after inoculation. The data on disease severity rating and AUDPC value were recorded on four different dates at 7 days intervals i.e. 8, 15, 22 and 29 days after inoculation (DAI). Statistical grouping done on the basis of AUDPC valuedepicted that25 RILs wereresistant;17 RILs were moderately resistant; 30 were moderately susceptibleand10 werehighlysusceptible. Theheritability of the AUDPC was found to be high i.e. 99%. AUDPC can be used as a disease estimator for the selection of resistant/susceptible lines in a breeding programme for improvement of resistance to Phomopsis blight in brinjal.