Table 3.
Variation parameters for conventional morphological descriptors.
| Descriptors | Cultivated eggplant (n = 6) | Wild relatives (n = 21) | Interspecific hybrids (n = 45; 42 for fruit traits) | F-ratio | Probability | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meana (range) | CV (%) | Mean (range) | CV (%) | Mean (range) | CV (%) | |||
| Plant growth habit | 5.33 a | 15.3 | 4.71 a | 24.3 | 5.00 a | 0.0 | 2.51 | 0.0883 |
| (5.00–7.00) | (3.00–7.00) | (5.00–5.00) | ||||||
| Plant height | 97.1 a | 16.5 | 124.8 b | 17.5 | 141.9 b | 19.5 | 9.81 | 0.0002 |
| (69.7–111.7) | (91.0–160.5) | (91.0–199.0) | ||||||
| Stem diameter (mm) | 22.6 a | 20.3 | 24.3 ab | 25.9 | 27.8 b | 16.8 | 5.09 | 0.0087 |
| (15.3–28.0) | (12.0–34.7) | (18.3–38.3) | ||||||
| Shoot tip anthocyanin intensity | 3.33 b | 86.3 | 0.57 a | 211.2 | 2.06 ab | 112.7 | 5.43 | 0.0064 |
| (0.00–7.00) | (0.00–3.00) | (1.00–7.00) | ||||||
| Leaf blade lobing | 4.33 a | 23.8 | 4.81 ab | 52.4 | 6.02 b | 19.5 | 5.42 | < 0.0065 |
| (3.00–5.00) | (1.00–9.00) | (3.00–9.00) | ||||||
| Leaf prickles (upper surface) | 0.11 a | 244.9 | 3.38 b | 95.6 | 4.45 b | 66.7 | 6.03 | 0.0039 |
| (0.00–0.67) | (0.00–9.00) | (0.00–9.00) | ||||||
| Leaf surface shape | 5.67 a | 28.8 | 5.29 a | 45.2 | 6.33 a | 30.1 | 1.96 | 0.1489 |
| (5.00–9.00) | (1.00–9.00) | (5.00–9.00) | ||||||
| Leaf blade tip angle | 5.00 a | 25.3 | 4.48 a | 32.8 | 4.58 a | 33.1 | 0.29 | 0.7484 |
| (3.00–7.00) | (3.00–7.00) | (2.00–7.00) | ||||||
| Leaf pedicel length (cm) | 6.91 c | 14.1 | 2.74 a | 41.1 | 5.70 b | 25.5 | 42.27 | < 0.0001 |
| (5.80–8.28) | (0.63–4.61) | (2.67–9.05) | ||||||
| Leaf blade length (cm) | 22.0 b | 7.9 | 13.8 a | 33.7 | 21.0 b | 19.3 | 23.65 | < 0.0001 |
| (19.7–24.9) | (5.2–20.9) | (15.0–31.9) | ||||||
| Leaf blade width (cm) | 15.8 b | 18.3 | 8.7 a | 38.1 | 15.9 b | 21.3 | 34.41 | < 0.0001 |
| (12.5–19.5) | (3.3–18.7) | (10.8–25.7) | ||||||
| Number of flowers per inflorescence | 3.49 a | 42.2 | 8.33 b | 57.9 | 6.77 b | 43.3 | 4.58 | < 0.0135 |
| (1.07–5.00) | (1.00–16.10) | (2.00–14.44) | ||||||
| Corolla color | 5.67 a | 18.2 | 5.57 a | 37.9 | 6.02 a | 24.1 | 0.58 | 0.5620 |
| (5.00–7.00) | (1.00–9.00) | (3.00–7.00) | ||||||
| Corolla diameter (mm) | 43.3 c | 12.9 | 22.2 a | 30.4 | 35.8 b | 22.3 | 30.44 | < 0.0001 |
| (37.2–49.9) | (7.7–30.4) | (20.4–49.9) | ||||||
| Number of flower prickles (calyx) | 1.83 a | 100.1 | 3.62 a | 102.5 | 3.64 a | 85.2 | 0.86 | 0.4269 |
| (0.00–5.00) | (0.00–9.00) | (0.00–9.00) | ||||||
| Number of sepals | 5.57 b | 14.1 | 4.81 a | 8.4 | 5.25 b | 7.2 | 10.69 | < 0.0001 |
| (5.00–7.00) | (4.00–5.00) | (5.00–6.00) | ||||||
| Number of petals | 5.65 c | 13.1 | 4.81 a | 8.4 | 5.24 b | 6.5 | 13.24 | < 0.0001 |
| (5.00–7.00) | (4.00–5.00) | (5.00–6.00) | ||||||
| Number of stamens | 5.61 b | 13.7 | 4.80 a | 8.4 | 5.26 b | 7.9 | 10.70 | < 0.0001 |
| (5.00–7.00) | (4.00–5.00) | (5.00–6.22) | ||||||
| Fruit pedicel length (mm) | 43.8 c | 15.2 | 17.5 a | 30.1 | 28.2 b | 44.9 | 16.13 | < 0.0001 |
| (33.0–52.2) | (8.5–27.5) | (8.6–50.3) | ||||||
| Fruit pedicel diameter (mm) | 10.2 c | 20.7 | 2.84 a | 42.8 | 5.4 b | 51.3 | 23.92 | < 0.0001 |
| (7.0–12.2) | (1.0–5.1) | (1.0–10.3) | ||||||
| Fruit length/breadth ratio | 6.50 b | 42.1 | 2.71 a | 35.2 | 3.90 a | 44.1 | 12.81 | < 0.0001 |
| (1.00–8.00) | (1.00–5.00) | (1.00–7.00) | ||||||
| Fruit cross section | 5.67 a | 18.2 | 6.05 a | 47.5 | 5.45 a | 41.7 | 0.43 | 0.6537 |
| (5.00–7.00) | (1.00–9.00) | (2.00–9.00) | ||||||
| Fruit apex shape | 5.33 a | 36.9 | 5.19 a | 32 | 5.33 a | 30.9 | 0.05 | 0.9485 |
| (3.00–7.00) | (3.00–7.00) | (3.00–7.00) | ||||||
| Fruit weight (g) | 244.7 c | 36.0 | 10.5 a | 111.6 | 58.4 b | 111.2 | 39.43 | < 0.0001 |
| (94.4–354.5) | (0.4–35.7) | (0.6–224.2) | ||||||
| Fruit flesh density | 6.33 b | 16.3 | 3.95 a | 63.2 | 5.38 ab | 44.4 | 3.60 | 0.0328 |
| (5.00–7.00) | (1.00–9.00) | (1.00–9.00) | ||||||
| Fruit calyx length (relative) | 2.67 a | 30.6 | 4.62 a | 57.5 | 4.05 a | 51.5 | 1.85 | 0.1647 |
| (1.00–3.00) | (1.00–9.00) | (1.00–9.00) | ||||||
| Fruit calyx prickles | 2.00 a | 54.8 | 3.48 a | 91.3 | 3.19 a | 95.0 | 0.58 | 0.5646 |
| (1.00–3.00) | (0.00–9.00) | (0.00–9.00) | ||||||
Values represent the mean, range (between brackets), and coefficient of variation (CV; %) for the conventional morphological descriptors studied in accessions of cultivated eggplant (S. melongena; n = 6), wild relatives (n = 21) and interspecific hybrids between cultivated eggplant and wild relatives (n = 45 except for fruit traits in which n = 42) and significance of mean differences among the three groups.
a
Means within rows separated by different letters are significantly different according to the Student-Newman-Keuls test.