Development of the parthenocarpic eggplant cultivars

Abstract

The set and growth of eggplant fruits can be improved by using insect pollinators or by treating flowers with phytohormones.　These techniques can be costly and labor-intensive.　Parthenocarpic cultivars offer the most cost-effective solution to improving fruit set and growth under suboptimal conditions.　‘Anominori 2 go’, a parthenocarpic eggplant cultivar developed at the NARO Institute of Vegetable and Tea Science in 2011, is an F1 hybrid between two parthenocarpic inbred lines, ‘AE-P01’ and ‘AE-P24’.　‘AE-P01’ was selected from a cross between ‘Talina’ （a commercial parthenocarpic F1 hybrid that was widely cultivated in Italy） and ‘Nasu Chukanbohon No 1 go’ （a Japanese parental line）.　‘AE-P24’ was developed from selective crossing of ‘Nakate Shinkuro’ （a Japanese traditional cultivar）, ‘Talina’, ‘Nasu Chukanbohon No 1 go’, and ‘Senryo Nigo’ （a commercial F1 hybrid that is widely cultivated in Japan）.　‘Anominori 2 go’ produces commercial fruits without phytohormone treatment;yields are higher than those of ‘Anominori’, another parthenocarpic cultivar developed at our institute.