A New Source Of Resistance To Bacterial Wilt Of Eggplants Obtained From A Cross - Solanum-Aethiopicum L X Solanum-Melongena L

As the eggplant hybrid F1 Kalenda no longer showed enough resistance to Pseudomonas solanacearum EF Smith in Guadelope and Martinique (French West Indies), a new breeding program was undertaken using Solanum aethiopicum as source of resistance. Despite sterility problems encountered during the first generations, selection was conducted under an artificial inoculation test according to a recurrent selection scheme including back-crosses by Solanum melongena. From the second backcross it was possible to obtain families with a high level of resistance to bacterial wilt, as well as a wide variation in the shape and colour of the fruits.