Performance of parthenocarpic lines of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) in net house and open field during the rainy season

Brinjal carries facultative parthenocarpy that is affected by seasonal variation and the environment of cultivation. Twenty-four parthenocarpic genotypes involving three parthenocarpic hybrid checks and one non-parthenocarpic varietal check (Punjab Neelam) were included to assess their performance under net house and open-field conditions during the rainy season. The genotypes, environments, and their interactions affected the performance of all the traits under investigation. Among the genotypes, PC-104-13-3, PC-104-13-1, PC-104-12-2, PC-104-3-1, PC-133-1, PC-136-4, PC-115-1, and non-parthenocarpic check Punjab Neelam had been the best for vegetative growth, while 93213-PC-2-1 and 93213-PC-2-3 for earliness and yield-related traits. In general, all the vegetative, flowering, fruiting, and yield-related traits flourished better under net house conditions as compared to open field conditions. Interaction effects between environment and genotype indicated that 93213-PC-2-1 and 93213-PC-2-3 were earlier for days to first harvest (35.0 and 38.0 days), at the top for the number of flowers per cluster (10.67 and 11.33, respectively), the number offruits per cluster (6.67 and 7.00, respectively) and the maximum number of marketable fruits per plant (25.51 and 28.03, respectively), when grown under net house conditions. The maximum and statistically at par average fruit weight was observed in PC-104-13-1 (298.33 g) and parthenocarpic hybrid check Nikki (291.67 g) in net house conditions. The parthenocarpic genotypes PC-123-1 (2.89 kg), PC-2016-6-2 (2.87 kg), PC-1-12-2 (2.78 kg), PC-104-13-1 (2.64 kg), PC-17-1 (2.61 kg), parthenocarpic hybrid checks Shelly (2.74 kg) and Nikki (2.73 kg), and Amaron check (2.55 kg) displayed at par marketable fruit yield per plant under net house conditions. In all, the marketable yield and its related traits during the rainy season were affected by the environment of cultivation, where the parthenocarpic genotypes performed better in net house conditions in brinjal.