Morphological and Nutritional Properties of Popular Eggplant Cultivars in Bangladesh

The study was conducted to investigate the morphological characteristics, nutritional composition, compare the proximal composition, mineral content and antioxidant bioactive compounds of ten popular eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) cultivars (six OP and four hybrids) in Bangladesh during the winter season of 2019-20. Considering the growth habit, plant vigour, earliness, fruit shape, fruit colour, fruit no/plant, fruit yield, pest and diseases infestation BARI Begun-6, BARI Begun- 8, BARI Begun-10, SM275, BARI Hybrid Begun-4 and Hybrid 21x11 were superior in comparison to other cultivars. BARI Begun-6 showed the highest amount of Carbohydrate (6.63) and Ca (48.33), while BARI Begun-8 was highest for crude fiber (2.48), ash (0.62), protein (1.54) and Mn (0.40). BARI Begun-10 obtained the highest content of energy (32.1), anthocyanin (78.51), P (23.45) and Zn (0.57). SM275 showed the highest concentration of ascorbic acid (15.21), Na (8.51) and Mg (24.80). In both studies the four OP cultivars viz., BARI Begun-6, BARI Begun-8, BARI Begun-10, SM275 and one hybrid viz., Hybrid 21x11 performed well with better horticultural characters along with significant amounts of human promoting health components, such as crude fibre and biologically essential minerals like K, Ca, Mg, P, Na and Fe. These cultivars can be cultivated and consumed for better human health.