Ethnobotanical Characterization of Scarlet Eggplant (Solanum Aethiopicum L.) Varieties Cultivated in Benin Republic

Abstract Background: The African eggplant [ Solanum aethiopicum (L.)] is an important orphan traditional vegetable cultivated in tropical regions for its edible fruits. In Benin republic, S. aethiopicum (L.) is mainly produced by rural farmers for food and for its uses in traditional medicine. Assessing the varietal diversity, the endogenous knowledge, the production constraints and the farmers’ preference criteria are of great importance for promotion and conservation purposes. Methods: Using rural appraisal tools and methods, an ethnobotanical study was conducted within 680 households across 92 villages. A total of 60 local accessions were identified, documented and collected in the surveyed sites. Results: We documented fifteen (15) farmers’ criteria for agronomic (57.88% of responses), and culinary (28.51%) preference; and for economic (13.61%) aspects. Several constraints related to eggplant production in Benin were recorded among which, low market demand (27% of responses), lack of high-yielding cultivars (11.08% of responses), low fruit storability (10.67%), low productivity (9.84%), soil poverty (8.43%), susceptibility to high soil moisture (8.02 %), pests (9.56%) and diseases (8.45%), and drought (6.38%) appeared to be the most important stress factors. In addition to synthetic pesticides, the eggplant farmers use botanical plant extracts such as extracts from Azadirachta indica (Meliaceae) and Hyptis suaveolens (Lamiaceae). Conclusion and implications: Benin eggplant production still remains traditional and limited to a few rural farmers. Finally, the current collected germplasm was proposed for further evaluation using morphological and molecular markers in order to provide breeders with traits of interest for developing better eggplant varieties that are suitable for local environmental conditions and production systems.