Characterization of African Eggplant accessions for morphological and yield parameters in the bimodal rainfall agroecology of Cameroon

Abstract

Despite its good nutritional value, African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum L.) has been overlooked by formal crop improvement programs. Diverse genetic material to initiate plant breeding in African eggplant is available but lacks characterization and trait evaluation. This study aims to characterize phenotypic variation in accessions of African eggplant and two related species (S. anguivi Lam. and S. macrocarpon L.), and assess their yield potential. Forty accessions were grown following a randomized complete block design. Data on 23 vegetative, inflorescence and fruit characters were collected using standard descriptors. Incidence of several insect pests and diseases also was rated. A cluster dendrogram divided the 40 accessions into four distinct taxonomic groups corresponding to S. aethiopicum Gilo Group, S. anguivi, S. aethiopicum Schum Group and S. aethiopicum Kumba Group. These groups differed in leaf size, number of days to flowering, fruit shape and size, and number of fruits per infructescence. The structure of the dendrogram did not reveal any relationship with the geographic distance between the origins of the accessions. The accessions differed significantly (PKLEINERDAN0.05) for all the parameters that were measured. Results indicated that accessions N13, Tengeru white, OAA, Ex-Ivory Coast, Oforiwa, AB2, Small oval, Heart shape and DB3 are candidates for future improvement of African eggplant in CameroonRSQUOs bimodal rainfall agroecology