Genetic divergence in egg plant (Solanum melongena L.)

The nature and magnitude of genetic diversity was studied in 38 lines/varieties of egg plant collected from different sources for 18 characters. The lines/varieties differed significantly for all the characters. On the basis of D² values, the 38 genotypes were grouped in 9 clusters which were homogenous within and heterogenous between. Minimum intra-cluster divergence was between genotypes falling in Cluster VI and maximum divergence was in Cluster III. The maximum inter-cluster divergence was observed between Clusters I and IX. The clustering pattern showed different behaviour irrespective of their origin. On the basis of the mean performance of the different clusters, varieties having acceptable yield were placed in Clusters I and II. The lines/varieties can be selected from diverse clusters for further improvement.