Inheritance Pattern of Yield and its Components in Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) Through Generation Mean Analysis

Eggplant is a prominent vegetable crop in India, valued for its nutritional and medicinal properties. Improving yield and related traits in brinjal demands a clear insight into the gene-actions governing quantitative traits. The development and cultivation of numerous high-yielding hybrids have further boosted brinjal production across the country. Generation mean analysis offers an effective approach to dissect genetic architecture, including additive, dominance and epistatic effects, that influence trait inheritance.

The study evaluated six generations (P₁, P₂, F₁, F₂, B₁ and B₂) from four brinjal crosses-JBL-1 x JBR-4, JBR-2 x JBR-5, JBR-1 x JBR-6 and JBR-3 x JBL-3-at the experimental farm of LPU during Kharif 2024. Data were recorded on ten traits including fruit yield, its components, earliness and pest infestation. Scaling tests and joint scaling tests were conducted to test model adequacy. A six-parameter model was used to estimate gene effects [m], [d], [h], [i], [j] and [l] to identify the types and magnitudes of gene interactions.

Significant deviations from the additive-dominance model across most traits confirmed the pervasive influence of epistasis. Duplicate epistasis emerged as the predominant form of gene interaction for all traits studied DFF, DP, FL, FG, NFPP (except family 2), NPBP (except family 3), PH, TFYP (except 3 and 4 families) and FBI. Total fruit yield per plant exhibited complex inheritance involving both additive and non-allelic effects. The identification of crosses exhibiting favorable additive and duplicate epistatic effects underscores their potential for genetic enhancement of yield and early maturity in brinjal breeding programs.