Genetic Variability and Trait Interrelationships Studies for Yield and Yield ContributingTraits in Pink Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) under sub-tropical plains of Jammu

Pink brinjal or kashmiri baingan, is one of the most popular and widely consumed vegetables in J&K. It is preferred for its attractive colour, silky texture, tiny seeds and delectable flesh. The majority of farmers use their own saved seed or landraces, regionally accessible germplasm, as well as readily available private seed company cultivars from the local market . Pink brinjal growers in the Jammu region suffer greatly due to the lack of high yielding varieties/hybrids as well as the prevalence of insect pests and diseases during the summer and rainy season. The present investigation was conducted during the year 2024-2025 to estimate the magnitude of genetic variability, to find out the correlation between the traits under study and work out the path analysis for twenty-one quantitative, qualitative, seed and biotic stress traits in pink brinjal. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with 37 genotypes (8 parents, one check and 28 F 1 hybrids) replicated thrice. The analysis of genotypic and phenotypic coefficient variance revealed a higher magnitude of PCV than the corresponding GCV for all characters which indicated the effect of environment on the character expression. The highest PCV and GCV were obtained for unmarketable fruit yield per plant. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance was observed for fruit weight showing the influence of additive gene action on the characters hence, may be useful for selection. Fruit yield per hectare showed a positive and significant correlation with plant height, fruit diameter, number of fruits per plant, fruit weight, total phenol content, marketable fruit yield per plant, unmarketable fruit yield per plant and total fruit yield per plant while fruit yield per hectare showed a negative and significant correlation with days to first flowering, days to first harvest, number of branches per plant, plant spread and fruit length. Marketable fruit yield per plant, unmarketable fruit yield per plant and seed vigor index showed maximum direct effect on fruit yield per hectare. The high direct effect of these traits appears to be the main factor for their strong association with fruit yield per hectare. Besides direct selection for fruit yield indirect selection through total fruit yield per plant, fruit diameter and fruit weight should be considered for further improvement in fruit yield per hectare of brinjal. The findings suggest that the identified traits can be considered as reliable selection indices for yield improvement in pink brinjal.