Phenotypic diversity and fruit characterization of eggplant (S. melongena L.) landraces in IPGR, Sadovo genebank

Veselina Masheva, Katya Uzundzhalieva, Mariya Sabeva

Abstract: Environmental changes, including biodiversity loss, threaten agricultural production. The preservation and study of traditional germplasm collections is an essential element in the expansion of ecotypes. In recent years, eggplant has received a lot of interest as a functional food, falling among the top ten vegetables as a source of phenolic compounds that act as antioxidants. At the Institute of Plant Genetic Resources, Sadovo, 22 local varieties of eggplant from four regions of Bulgaria were studied according to 17 quantitative and qualitative characteristics from the eggplant descriptor. Plant fruit weight recorded a highly positive significant correlation with width (r = 0.802**). Similarly, significant positive correlations were identified between days to flowering and fruit set (r = 0.867**) and between leaf length (r = 0.607**) and leaf width (r = 0.593**) and crude protein. The quality of the fruit is considered most important and therefore total sugar, crude protein and dry matter content are determined. Significant differences were observed, with A9E1156, B2E0302, and A8E0531 being high in protein, A8E0604, B6E0332, and A9E0537 having prominent sugars, while A7E0313, B4E0126, and A8E0586 were found to be high in dry matter. The results showed significant morphological and biochemical differences between the evaluated accession foundations for further breeding programs and a major source of agricultural biodiversity.

Keywords: biodiversity; eggplant; landrace; phenotype; Solanum melongena L.

Date published: 2023-10-20