Breeding of Brinjal

1. Brinjal
Solanum melongena L.,
Family: Solanaceae
2n= 24
O: Indo-Burma region
Origin and domestication of the Brinjal /Eggplant, Solanum melongena
L., from Solanum incanum L., in Africa and Asia

2. Eggplant (Solanum melongena) is a plant species in
the nightshade family Solanaceae grown for its often purple edible
fruit. Although eggplant is the common name in the United States,
in British English, it is called aubergine, and in South Asia and South
Africa, brinjal.
The plant is also known as guinea squash in Southern American
English.
It has been known as 'Jew's apple', apparently in relation to a
belief that the fruit was first imported to the West Indies by Jewish
people.

3. •The bitterness in brinjal is due to glycoalkaloids (Solasodine)
•Aubergines contain many different anthocyanins, the most common anthocyanin,
and that most often linked to the purple colour of the aubergine, is nasunin.

4. Nightshades contain anti-nutrients, natural compounds
which resist digestion and cause intestinal perforation
Saponins and Lectins.

5. Distribution of Brinjal:
Brinjal is one of the few cultivated
Solanaceous species originating in the Old
World.
It was domesticated long ago and, where
the greatest diversity is found.
It is a major vegetable crop in several
countries like India, Japan, Indonesia, China,
Bulgaria, Italy, France, the USA and several
African countries.

7. Solanum is very large genus. Among the 22
Indian species, there is a group of 5 related
ones.
All are prickly and diploid with 2n = 24, which
are: -
Solanum melongena
 Solanum coagulans
Solanum xanthocarpum
Solanum maccanii
Solanum indicum

8. S. melongena is characterized by great morphological
diversity.
Choudhury (1976) divided eggplant cultivars into three
botanical varieties on the basis of the shape of the fruit:
S. melongena var. esculentum Dunal (Nees) – round, oval
or egg-shaped fruits,
 S. melongena var. serpentinum L. – long slender fruits,
S. melongena var. depressum L. – small, miniature fruits,
dwarf and early types

10. Breeding objectives are:
High yield and its quality
Earliness
Fruit shape, size and colour as per consumer
preference
Low proportion of seed /higher seed depending
upon use
Soft flesh
Fruit colour retention in summer
Lower solanine content
Upright sturdy plant free from lodging

11. Solanine Toxicity – The Dark Side of Nightshades
Solanines have been found to kill cells in the intestines,
increase gut inflammation as well as contribute to “leaky
gut”.

12. Resistance to diseases
•Bacterial wilt (Pseudomonas
solanacearum/Ralstonia solanacearum Smith)
•Phomopsis blight (Phomopsis vexans)
•Little leaf (Mycoplasma like bodies/Phytoplasma)
Resistance to insects
•eggplant fruit borer- Leucinodes orbonalis,
•melon aphid -Aphis gossypii,
•leafhopper -Amrasca biguttula, etc.)
nematodes(root-knot nematode- Meloidogyne
spp.)

13. Resistance or tolerance to abiotic stress
(drought, low or high temperatures, salinity),
Parthenocarpy (Parthenocarpy is being
increasingly used to produce seedless fruit
varieties).
Resistance to herbicides
Nutritive value (high dry matter, sugars,
anthocyanin and total phenol contents, low
level of polyphenol oxidase activity and
orthodihydroxy phenolic compounds to avoid
browning of cut fruits),
Market needs and consumer preference

14. Parthenocarpy is being increasingly used to produce seedless fruit
varieties today because of the high quality and consistency in the
yield.
Parthenocarpy is a phenomenon by which fruits are developed
without the process of fertilization.

15. Seedless Brinjal

16. Shoot and fruit borer (Leucinodes orbonalis)
This borer is the most serious pest of brinjal. The borer or
caterpillar attacks the plant from nursery and continues till crop
remains in the field. It becomes inactive during winter. The
caterpillars bore into the young shoots and fruits, as a result of
which the shoots wither and dry up. Affected fruits also become,
unfit for consumption and in severe cases, they may even rot.
 The genotypes with
 high phenol content
 High phenol oxidase activity
 High glyco alkaloid content
 Low total soluble sugars
 Low anthocyanin content are needed to breed resistant
cultivars.
Genetically engineered resistance offers best solution

17. Breeding Methods
Pureline selection
Pedigree method
Pusa Purple Long, Pusa Purple Cluster, Pant Samrat, Pant
Rituraj, PH 4, Pusa Kranti, KT 4, Azad Kranti, H 7, Hisar
Shyamal (H 8), Jamuni Gola, Punjab Barsati, NDB 25 and
bacterial wilt resistant cultivars such as BB7, BWR12,
Singnath, Bholanath, Green Star, Blue Star and Hazari.
Bulk method
Modified pedigree SSD
Combination of bulk and pedigree
Backcrossing

18. Heterosis breeding
Considerable heterosis for fruit yield, quality and resistance
to diseases has been reported in eggplant. F1 hybrids are
becoming popular day by day where manual emasculation
and pollination are very much in practical use.
A few combinations found promising and worth exploiting on commercial scale are as
follows:

19. Hybrids are on rapid expansion in Asian
countries such as China, India, Thailand, Vietnam;
etc., where, traditional cultivars are under erosion
and replacement by the hybrids.
In India, currently, about 25 tons of hybrid seeds
are being produced and sold by several private
seed sector Companies like Mahyco, Nunhems,
Seminis, Sungro, Bejo Sheetal, Syngenta,
Krishidhan Vegetable Seeds, Vibha Seeds, etc.

20. Varieties
In brinjal a large variation in plant types, fruit colour, shape and size are
available. Two main fruit types, namely, round and long are cultivated throughout
India. The brinjal fruits may be white, yellow, brown, green, black, pink, purple, and
stripped in colour.
The long green varieties are preferred in Karnataka, and the round green in
Orissa.
In North India, pinkish purple or violet and black coloured varieties are
preferred. The following are the important varieties grown in India.
1. Pusa Purple Long
It is a selection from the mixed Batia cultivar grown in Punjab, Delhi and western
Uttar Pradesh. It is an early maturing cultivar becoming ready for harvesting in 100
to 110 days. Fruits are long (20-25 cm), purple, glossy and tender. Grown as summer
and autumn crop, it does extremely well in the north. Average yield is 281 quintals
per hectare.
2. Pusa Purple Cluster
It is a medium early variety, Selectin from local material, developed at the LA.R.I.
New Delhi. The plants are erect and tall, leaves and stems are purplish in colour.
Fruits arc 10-12 cm long, deep purple in colour and borne in clusters of 4-9. It is
suitable for growing in southern and northern hills. It is capable of giving an yield of
more than 300 quintals per hectare.

22. 3. Pusa Kranti – (PPL x Hyderpur) x Wynad Giant
This is a variety with a dwarf and spreading growth habit. Fruits are
oblong, 15-20 cm long, dark purple with shinning green calyx and less
seeded. The variety is good for both autumn and spring plantings under
North Indian conditions. On an average, each fruit weighs 68 g with a
bearing of 22 fruits per plants.
4. Pusa Anmol - (PPL x Hyderpur)
It is a hybrid cultivar evolved from a cross between Pusa Purple Long
and Hyderpur at I.A.R.I.New Delhi. It produces early and increased yield
of about 80% over Pusa purple long.
5. Pant Samrat
It is a selection from the local collection at Pantnagar. Fruits are of
attractive texture. Resistant to phomopsis blight and bacterial wilt when
the crop is field grown. It is also less nested by borers and jassids. It is
good for rainy season crop.
6. Azad Kranti
This is a variety developed at Kalianpur (Kanpur). Fruits are uniformly
thick, oblong, 15-20 cm long, dark purple with a shining green colour. It is
less seeded than other varieties.

23. 7. Pusa Purple Round
The fruits of this variety are tall with a thick stem of greenish purple
in colour. On an average, each fruit weighs about 137 g with a bearing of
only six fruits per plant. This variety is now being replaced by other
cultivars.
8. Arka Sheel
The fruits of this variety are medium long, tender and possess an
attractive deep purple skin colour which is retained much beyond the
commercial stage. The fruits contain more edible flesh and less number
of seeds. The plant is well branched and erect unlike the spreading type.
It is very high yielding and produces, on an average, 394 quintals per
hectare in 110 to 120 days after transplanting.
9. Arka Shirish
It is an extra long, green brinjal cultivar. The fruits are very tender,
thick with attractive light green skin colour, with good edible flesh and
having less number of seeds. The flesh texture is good with better
cooking quality. It is very high yielding and produces, on an average, a
yield of 384 quintals per hectare in about 115 days after transplanting.

24. 10. Arka Kusumakar
This cultivar is an improvement over local collection in Karnataka State. The
fruits are small, finger shaped and light green in colour. The fruits are borne in
clusters of 5 to 7. They contain less seeds and have good flesh texture and cooking
quality. It is very high yielding and the dwarf plants bear about 70-75 fruits each.
On an average, it produces about 397 quintals of fruits per hectare in about 110 to
1.20 days after transplanting.
11. Arka Navneet- IIHR21 x Supreme
This is a very high yielding round cultivar with shining deep purple skin
colour. The fruits are free from bitterness. The fruits have excellent cooking quality
with more edible flesh and less seeds. It yields about 392 quintals per hectare.
Each fruit weighs about 40 g.
12. Vijay Hybrid
It is a very high yielding hybrid cultivar. Fruits are oval to oblong with purple
skin colour. 1t takes about 102 days for harvesting edible maturity fruits. Each fruit
weighs about 170 g and on an average; it yields about 400 quintals per hectare.
13. Pant Rituraj- T 3 x PPC
The fruits are almost with attractive purple colour. They are soft, less seeded
and endowed with good flavour. Average yield is 400 quintals per hectare. This
variety possesses field resistance to bacterial blight.

25. 14. Jamuni Gola
Fruits of this variety are plump and shining purple in colour. It is
an early maturing variety and the first harvesting is done 95 days
after transplanting.
15. Hisar Shyamal (H8)- Aushey x BR 112
Hisar Shyamal is a high yielding hybrid variety. The fruits are
round, fleshy, bright purple with dark green purple pedicels, sepal
and peduncle. Plants are tolerant to the little leaf disease. This
variety is suitable for both the seasons autumn and spring and
gives an average early yield of about 130.9 q/ha.
Besides these varieties, there are some other varieties of
brinjal grown in different parts of India. These are PH-4(Hyderpur x
PPL), Kt-4, ARU-2C, K-202-9, Kalianpur T -3, Punjab Neelum (Jamuni
x Pant Rituraj), Punjab Barsati (PPC x PH 4), Sadabahar Baingan,
Azad Hybrid, Pant Hybrid-1 ( PB 129 x PB 225), Pusa Hybrid-5, Roh-
51, Roh-58, etc.

26. Brinjal-Pusa Safed Baigan-1
Pusa Safed baigan 1 is the white coloured oval round fruited variety suitable for
kharif season under north Indian plains. Plants are non-spiny with semi erect
branches, having light purple pigmentation on younger leaves. Fruits are oval round
and each fruit transplanting to first fruit harvesting. It has high total phenol content
(31.21 mg GAE/100G) with high antioxidant activity (3.48 CUPRAC µ mol
trolox/g,2.58 FRAP µ mol trolox/g). The potential yield of the variety is 35t/ha.

27. The Bt brinjal is a suite of transgenic brinjals (also known as an
eggplant or aubergine) created by inserting a crystal
protein gene (Cry1Ac) from the soil bacterium Bacillus
thuringiensis into the genome of various brinjal cultivars.
The insertion of the gene, along with other genetic elements such
as promoters, terminators and an antibiotic resistance marker gene
into the brinjal plant is accomplished using Agrobacterium-mediated
genetic transformation.
The Bt brinjal has been developed to give resistance
against lepidopteron insects, in particular the Brinjal Fruit and Shoot
Borer (Leucinodes orbonalis)(FSB).
When ingested by the FSB larvae, the Bt protein is activated in the
insect’s alkaline gut and binds to the gut wall, which breaks down,
allowing the Bt spores to invade the insect’s body cavity. The FSB
larvae die a few days later.

28. Mahyco, an Indian seed company based in Jalna, Maharashtra, has
developed the Bt brinjal.
The genetically modified brinjal event is termed Event EE 1, and Mahyco
have also applied for approval of two brinjal hybrids.
The Event EE 1 was introgressed by plant breeding into various local
varieties by University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad and Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University, Coimbatore.
Some of the cultivars of brinjal include: Malpur local, Manjari gota,
Kudachi local, Udupi local, 112 GO, and Pabkavi local.
The National Center on Plant Biotechnology (NRCPB) has developed Bt
brinjal varieties expressing the cryFa1 gene.
It was approved for commercialization in India in 2009, but - after an
apparent public outcry and rounds of debates in which representatives
from Mahyco, the scientific community, and NGO's spoke on the topic -
the then Indian Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, facilitated
a moratorium on its release until further, unspecified, tests were
conducted.
Bt brinjal was approved for commercial release in Bangladesh in 2013.