Responses of interspecific hybrid eggplant f4 inbred lines to drought and heat stress

Abstract

Eggplant is grown in and near the tropic and sub-tropic zones where climate change effects can be seen dramatically in agricultural production. As a vegetable, it is considered has tolerance to some abiotic stresses compared to others. However, significant reductions in yield and marketable fruit quality were observed under stress conditions that exceeded the tolerance level. Eggplant has wild relatives which are known as tolerant to stresses. As a part of the comprehensive project this research includes drought-tolerant line development from the F4 population obtained by interspecific crossing between Solanum incanum L., a wild relative of eggplant naturally distributed in the Sub-Saharan zone, and a pure line with superior characteristics developed in BATEM. Qualified 50 inbred lines were selected as drought tolerant among F3 progenies in previous studies. In this experiment, 12 plants from each 50 genotypes at F4 level were exposed to drought stress, which was created by 25% watering of full irrigation. On the 25th day of treatment, tolerant plants were distinguished by using 0-5 scale. From each genotype, 4 plants were selected as drought tolerant, and they were transferred to greenhouse to identify their heat tolerance. Among the drought-tolerant group 42 F4 lines were found as heat tolerant.