Agricultural Biodiversity

The eggplant or commonly known as “brinjal” is a plant that belongs to “Solanaceae” family. The fruit it bears is commonly used as a vegetable in many countries like India, Pakistan, etc. Botanically it’s classified as a berry plant, has many small seeds which are bitter in taste as they contain “nicotinoid alkaloids” in insignificant amounts.

Types of Eggplants:

There is a large variety of plants that produce different types of fruits of different sizes, shapes and colors. Largely they are cultivated and preferred in purple color which may be of different shapes. Common shapes are oval, elongated, small round, etc. The varieties of eggplant differ from region to region as the climatic conditions change, and hence with the change in variety changes the way it is cooked.

Plantation:

Eggplant is a vegetable which is cold sensitive in nature and hence requires a long warm season. They must be kept slightly farther from one another as they are larger in size. These plants are heavy feeders and must be planted in very much composite soil with adequate amount of manure. The best time for planting these plants is after frost, as at this time the soil becomes warm and the temperature is also maintained constantly warmer. The seeds of the plant must be started in some separate pots or containers indoors before being transplanted into the ground. Later the seedlings must be transplanted to garden soil a bit deeper than they were in their pots. An eggplant doesn’t need much amount of fertilizer and hence one must take care while adding the fertilizer, the amount must be less. Plant spacing is another thing which must be taken care of; the plants must be spaced 18-24 inches apart in a row. The plant must get adequate amount of sunlight and must never be kept in dark and frost free areas. The fruits are best in taste when they are young, that is why they must be plucked off as soon as their skin starts to get harder and the color starts becoming dark (this is the best time for harvest).

General Problems Faced:

Similar to other plants in our garden this eggplant also gets affected with many insects and diseases. Some general problems and their causes are:

• Flea Beetle: tiny holes or pin holes caused due to chewed up leaves by adult insects and on the other hand the larvae feed on the roots of the plant hence both adult and larvae affecting the leaves and the roots of the plant.
• Aphids:  are small insects generally found underside of a leaf and also over the new stems. They suck the plant juices necessary for growth and leave the plant deprived of the essential nutrients.
• Leaf Hoppers: these are yellowish green insects that have wings at their adult stage. They foil up the plant by piercing the leaves and sucking the plan juices. Also they are capable of spreading some viral diseases.
• Verticillim: leaf and stem are affected; soil is also affected; plants may die in such conditions.
• Blossom End Rot: this is the condition in which the fruit gets affected. This generally occurs at the blossom end of the fruit (the last stage). This affects ripen and green fruits, the fruits may shrunk. Mainly caused due to imbalance in water nutrients due to improper watering. It is generally common in clay soil.
• Early Blight: this affects the leaf mainly. The older leaves may develop black-brown spots which may be having yellow colored border. Under some cases the stem also can get affected and griddle the plant.