Multivariate analysis of phenotypic variation and inter-character association in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) accessions

The agronomic and nutritional values of eggplant (Solanum melongena) can be increased by harnessing its genetic variability. In this work, we aimed to study the variation and inter-character association among eggplant genotypes, with the ultimate goal of identifying genotypes that are useful for breeding. The study was carried out at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria in 2013, using seven eggplant genotypes. Data were collected on seventeen agro-morphological characters and subjected to principal component analysis (PCA), single linkage cluster analysis (SLCA), correlation analysis, and Genotype × Yield-Trait-biplot (GYT-biplot) procedure. PCA revealed that plant, fruit and yield characters were relevant in discriminating the genotypes while SLCA classified the genotypes into four clusters. Correlation analyses revealed a strong, significant but negative correlation between fruit breadth and yield traits while the GYT-biplot procedure delineated the genotypes into three sectors. We suggest that reduced fruit breadth should be selected for in order to obtain improved yield in eggplant. Genotypes 10014-101a, 97068-091a, and 12078-092e should be further investigated because they are in distinct clusters and, they are the vertex genotypes in sectors 1, 2 and 3.