The evaluated eggplant germplasm collection represented a wealth of diversity for the considered traits. Although phenotypic variation was considered, it is likely that this variation is largely genetic and therefore directly useable in breeding programmes; especially for those characters which have a rather high heritability such as yield per plant, fruit weight and plant height. The sub-division of germplasm through different clusters kept track of existing variability and permitted display of character peculiarities. The generated information may contribute to a more effective utilization of the germplasm collections. All the 120 eggplant genotypes conveniently grouped into 10 clusters with like genotypes within clusters for different traits. The implications of classificatory approach have been discussed.
Eggplant, germplasm, biological divergence, phenotypic variation
