Exploring the Potential of Traditional Eggplant Varieties in Malaysia for Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

This study evaluated traditional Malaysian eggplant cultivars (terung rapuh and terung telunjuk) compared to commercial varieties (terung panjang and terung bulat) for pest and disease resistance, nutritional and phytochemical properties. The study was conducted at the Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (MARDI) in Serdang, Selangor during the period of January to November 2020. The eggplants were planted in single row planting with 90 cm between plants in the row and 200 cm between rows using Randomised Complete Block Design with three replicates. The proximate compositions and major elements analysis were conducted at accredited laboratory Unipeq, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The traditional cultivars demonstrated lower pest and disease incidence, particularly terung telunjuk, suggesting inherent resistance mechanisms. Nutritional analysis revealed that terung rapuh had the highest protein content (2.46%), carbohydrate (9.97%), energy value (223.1 kJ/100g) and essential micronutrients (calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium, zinc). Furthermore, terung rapuh exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity with the lowest IC50 value (2.38 mg/ml) and highest total phenolic content (44.02 mg/g). These findings highlight the potential of traditional eggplant cultivars as valuable genetic resources for developing sustainable agriculture and promoting dietary diversity in Malaysia. Specifically, terung rapuh and terung telunjuk offer promising traits for breeding programs focused on enhanced pest and disease resistance, improved nutritional value, and increased antioxidant capacity.