Genetic analysis for fruit yield and its component traits in brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)

An investigation was undertaken with a view to study the nature and magnitude of gene action for 10 quantitative traits among five crosses of brinjal through generation mean analysis. The study involved six generation viz., P 1 , P 2 , F 1 , F 2 , BC 1 and BC 2 of five crosses derived from six diversified parents. The results indicated that the magnitude and type of gene effects differed for the same trait in different cross combinations. Therefore, for the improvement of particular trait, segregating generations of individual crosses should be handled according to the gene action involved in its inheritance. Additive [d], dominance [h], additive x additive, dominance x dominance gene actions were equally important for primary branches per plant, fruit breadth, fruit weight, yield per plant and seeds per fruit in most of the crosses. The complimentary type of epistasis was detected for inheritance of days to first flowering and days to first fruit picking in BNDT x PPC, number of fruits per plant in PPC x BB 64, yield per plant in N-1007 x BB-64 and KASARALI x PPC, while duplicate type of epistasis was important for inheritance of remaining traits in all the crosses except in BNDT x PPC.