**5. Conclusions**

The current study clearly established that the improvement of brinjal yield and related traits can be obtained through selection with the valuation of different genetic parameters analysis. Most of the qualitative traits showed distinct variations among the germplasm. Qualitatively, the maximum variation was observed in leaf prickles, fruit calyx prickles, fruit color at ripening, and fruit flesh density. Quantitatively, the highest variation was observed in fruit yield per plant which was followed by fruit weight. Nevertheless, the present study has shown that selection with the evaluation of various analyzes of genetic parameters such as GCV, PCV, hBS, and GA can achieve an improved eggplant yield and related traits. It can be observed that practically all of the agronomic traits tested in this study exhibit significant variability based on the recorded data and additional analyses (heatmap analysis, correlation matrix, PCA, MGIDI analysis). Therefore, the germplasm G80, G54, G66, and G120 might be considered as best parents based on the qualitative and quantitative characters for the future breeding program. The present findings have a great genetic potential for the studied germplasm. Concurrently, the promising germplasm identified in the present study might be used in future breeding programs for eggplant improvement.

**Supplementary Materials:** The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/article/ 10.3390/horticulturae7100376/s1, Table S1: Experimental materials (130 genotypes) with estimated parameters.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin), M.B., R.A., S.R., N.J., M.G.H., S.A.B., M.S.U. (Md. Sorof Uddin), A.B.M.K., M.G.A., N.H. and M.A.L.A.; methodology, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin), M.B., R.A. and S.R.; software, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin) and A.H.; validation, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin) and A.B.M.K.; formal analysis, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin) and A.H.; investigation, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin), M.B., R.A., S.R., N.J., M.G.H., S.A.B., M.S.U. (Md. Sorof

Uddin), A.B.M.K., M.G.A., N.H. and M.A.L.A.; resources, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin); data curation, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin) and A.H.; writing—original draft preparation, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin), M.B., R.A., S.R., N.J., M.G.H., S.A.B., Md. Sorof Uddin, A.B.M.K., M.G.A., N.H. and M.A.L.A.; writing—review and editing M.A., A.G. and A.H.; visualization, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin), M.B., R.A., S.R., N.J. and M.G.H.; supervision, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin); project administration, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin), M.A. and A.G.; funding acquisition, M.S.U. (Md. Shalim Uddin), M.A., A.G. and A.H. All authors have read and agreed to publish the current version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** The current work was funded by Project Implementation Unit, National Agricultural Technology Program-Phase II Project (NATP-2) using the research fund of WB, IFAD and GoB through Ministry of Agriculture and Taif University Researchers Supporting Project number (TURSP 2020/257), Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Data recorded in the current study are available in all Tables and Figures of the manuscript.

**Acknowledgments:** The research has been conducted in Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) under the Program Based Research Grant (PBRG), Sub-Project entitled "Collection and Characterization of Important Plant Genetic Resources in Bangladesh." The project was approved by Project Implementation Unit National Agricultural Technology Program-Phase II Project (NATP-2), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh. The authors also extend their appreciation to Taif University for funding current work by Taif University Researchers Supporting Project number (TURSP 2020/257), Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
