Heterosis Studies for Yield and Yield Attributing Characters in Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)

Genetical studies on fruit yield per plant and its attributing traits were conducted following line x tester mating design comprising of 5 lines and 4 testers at Regional Horticulture Research Station, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari. There was high heterosis response in most of the hybrids which supports the role of non-additive gene effects. The maximum heterosis for fruit yield per plant was observed in the cross AB-8/5 x GJB-2 (103.59%) followed by AB 8/5 x GBL 1 (41.52%) and JBR 6/7 x GJB 2 (35.17%). The hybrid AB 8/5 x GJB 2 also exhibited highly significant heterosis (245.26%) for number of fruits per cluster while the hybrid JBR 6/7 x GJB 2 showed significant heterosis (17.53%) for average fruit weight. Some of the promising hybrids showed desirable heterosis for earliness, number of flowers per cluster, phenol content.