AGRONOMIC AND YIELD DIVERSITY AMONG THIRTY-THREE ACCESSIONS OF AFRICAN EGGPLANT (Solanum aethiopicum). *

African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum) is known for its multiple purpose as the fruits can be consumed raw or prepared as sauce, it is also a good source of mineral nutrients. Despite this socio-economic importance, there is paucity of information on the genetic diversities of its species thereby creating gaps in selection and adoption for scientific research. This study is aimed at having selection for earliness and yield. Thirty-three accessions of African eggplant were evaluated for qualitative and quantitative traits. The experimental design was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in triplicates. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the variability of studied traits, revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) among the accessions for all the traits studied. Accession Nhep2104 flowered early at 91 days and the number of fruits per cluster was highest in Nhep2115 (6.17). The highest number of harvested fruits were observed in Nhep2123 (113.67). Accessions Nhep2104, Nhep2110 and Nhep2115 were ranked as the top three superior accessions useful in breeding for earliness while accessions Nhep2123, Nhep2124 and Nhep2121 will give more yield. The wide range of variations observed could be a good tool when making the selection in a future breeding programme for desired traits and farmers adoption.