Undesirable Characteristics of Eggplant and the Development of a Spineless Japanese Cultivar

Abstract

Information about undesirable characteristics in eggplant cultivars was gathered by questionnaire. Responses indicated that the existence of spines and trichomes and the purple coloring of eggplant were the three unpleasant characteristics most frequently cited. In particular, the existence of spines was considered the most unpleasant character because it causes discomfort during handling and specks on the eggplant fruits.
Through cross breeding the spineless Dutch cultivar ‘Freia’ with the Japanese cultivars ‘Senryo nigo’ and ‘Binan’, spineless lines with more favorable characters could be developed for the Japanese market. The spineless characteristic from ‘Freia’ is suggested to have no close relationship with the unfavorable characters. Development of spineless Japanese F₁ cultivars is possible by introducing the spineless variety into their parental lines.