STUDY OF HETEROSIS AND PERFORMANCE OF EGGPLANNT DURING SUMMER SEASON

Abstract

The study was conducted at the experimental farm of Olericulture Division, Horticulture Research Centre (HRC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur, Bangladesh during the period from March to September 2019.The main objective of the experiment was to study the heterosis and horticultural performance of newly developed eggplant hybrids during summer season. The heterotic performance for different parameters were estimated in a 7×7 half-diallel fashion of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.). The cross P4 x P6 took shortest time(73.67days) for 50% flowering followed by P1 x P6 (74.67days). The parent P1 took shortest time for first harvest (46.67days) followed by P1 x P7 (57.67 days). The parent P4 showed highest no. of primary branches at last harvest (6.67) followed by P3 x P4 (6.07) and P1x P7 (6.03). The parent P1 and P7 showed highest no. of flowers/ cluster (5.33) followed by P1 x P5 (4.33), P4 x P6 (4.33) and P3 (4.33), while P7 showed highest no. of fruits/ cluster (4.00) followed by P1 x P7 (3.33), P1 (3.33). The hybrid P2 x P4 showed highest % fruit set (97.67) followed by P2 x P5 (81.00). The parent P2 showed highest individual fruit weight (445.00g) followed by P2 x P6 (401.33g). The hybrid P3 x P4 showed longest fruit length (26.67cm) followed by P4 (24.33cm), P3 (23.00cm) and P7 (23.00cm), while P2 showed longest fruit diameter (11.67cm) followed by P2 x P6 (9.73cm) whereas P3 showed shortest fruit diameter (2.70cm) followed by P3x P4 (2.73cm). The hybrid P3 x P7 showed highest no. of fruits per plant (39.67) followed by P1x P7 (38.30). The significant highest fruit yield/plant was produced in P1 x P6 showed highest yield/plant (4.10kg) followed by P4 x P5 (4.03kg), P2 x P5 (4.02kg), P5 x P6 (3.77kg) and P4 x P6 (3.74kg) The 7×7 half-diallel fashion (twenty cross combinations) showed significant variation for better parent heterosis of different characters studied. Twenty cross combinations showed significant better parent heterosis for earliness. The highest heterobeltiotic effect was observed in the P2 x P5 (16.96%), for early flowering. Maximum heterotic effect for individual fruit weight was found in the cross P1 x P4 (11.74 %) followed by P1 x P7 (9.96 %), The best heterotic cross for fruits per plant and it was observed from the cross no. of fruits/plant was observed in the hybrid P5 x P6 (35.80%) followed by P1 x P4 (28.37%). In terms of yield per plant the highest heterobeltiosis produced by the cross P1 x P2 (48.65%) followed by P1 x P6 (43.02%).