Abstract:
Brinjal (Solanum melongena) is an important solanaceous crop cultivated extensively
in tropical and subtropical regions for its nutritional and economic value. The
development of pure homozygous lines through conventional breeding is laborious and
time-consuming; therefore, anther culture provides an efficient alternative for the rapid
production of doubled haploid plants. This study aimed to develop an efficient anther
culture protocol for selected brinjal varieties by optimizing the hormonal composition
of the initiation medium. Sterilized anthers from three hybrid brinjal varieties (SA-07,
Amanda, and HORDI Hybrid 04) were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium
supplemented with varying concentrations of BAP, NAA, and kinetin, forming four
treatments (T1-T4). The interaction between treatments and varieties was not
statistically significant atthe 5o/o level (p> 0.05) for any measured parameter, indicating
that variation was primarily due to the individual effects of genotype and medium
composition. Among the treatments, T3 (3 mg L' BAP + 1 mg L t NAA + 3 mg L t
kinetin) resulted in the highest anther size enlargement (2.33 + 0.33%) in SA-07, while
no enlargement was observed in T2 and T4 of HORDI Hybrid 04. The highest callus
formation (16.70 + 10.50%) occurred in T1 (2 me L ' BAP + 1 mg L-' NAA +
2 mg L ' kinetin) for SA-07, confirming its superior androgenic response. Although
treatment effects were not statistically signilicant for callus formation (p:0.133),
varietal effects were significant (p : 0.041), highlighting the influence of genotype on
in vitro response. Contamination levels did not differ significantly among treatments or
varieties (p>0.05). Overall, the results demonstrate that hormonal balance and genotype
are critical determinants of success in brinjal anther culture. The MS medium
supplemented with 2 mgL I BAP, 1 mg L' NAA, and 2mg L' kinetin proved most
suitable for callus induction in SA-07, suggesting its potential use in developing a
standardized protocol for rapid doubled haploid production in brinjal breeding
programs.
