Heterosis and Inbreeding Depression in Relation to other Genetic Parameters in Egg Plant

Heterosis and inbreeding depression with other genetic parameters were studied with the 60 hybrids involving 15 female lines and 4 male testers evaluated for ten characters in a Randomized Block Design with three replications at Kanpur. Maximum positive heterosis (69.23 per cent) was recorded over economic parent (Type 3), whereas inbreeding depression has score 32.39 per cent. None of the crosses exhibited significant heterosis for most of the characters. However, on the basis of fruit yield per plant supported by other significant traits, crosses KS 233 × T 3, KS 263 × AB 1, ACC 2623 × T 3, ACC 820 6 × T 3, ACC 8204 × T 3, KS 247 × T3 and KS 227 × AB 1 for days to flowering, days to marketable maturity, plant height (only for KS 233 × T 3), number of branches per plant, number of fruits per plant, width of fruit (only for KS 263 × AB 1), fruit weight (except KS 247 × T 3 and KS 227 × AB 1) and plant spread exhibited maximum heterotic effects alongwith inbreeding depression. All the 60 crosses exhibited additive gene action except KS 247 × DBR 8 and KS 227 × ABR 8 for plant height, ACC 2623 × KS 224 and ACC 2623 × DBR 8 for width of fruit, ACC 8206 × T 3 for fruit weight and KS 250 × AB 1 for yield per plant which showed non-additive gene effects in relation to heterosis and inbreeding depression. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance was recorded by days to flowering, days to marketable maturity, plant height and fruit weight. Rest of the characters showed high heritability with medium or low genetic advance.