How to grow eggplant: Eggplant is an amazing nutritious vegetable. The nutritional value of eggplant is very important for our good health. Eggplant contains anti-cancer ingredients. Eggplant prevents cancer of the stomach, colon, intestine, and colon. Eggplant helps to eliminate harmful cholesterol of the body.
How to grow eggplant
Step-by-step the cultivation method of eggplant from seeds is given below:
Soil for growing eggplant
From light sand to heavy clay eggplant is grown in almost all types of soils. However, light sandy soil is suitable for the cultivation of early variety eggplant. In order to cultivate eggplant in this type of soil, you need to apply a lot of organic manure and other fertilizers frequently. Clay loam and silt loam soils are suitable for eggplant cultivation and eggplant yield is higher in these soils. The soil selected for eggplant cultivation needs to be deep, fertile, and well-drained.
Growing season/Cultivation time
Eggplant can be cultivated at any time of the year in the climate of the temperate region. However, if eggplant is cultivated in Rabi season, the yield is better than in the Kharif season. Rabi season i.e. winter is usually from August to October – the best time to sow seeds. January to May is the best time for sowing seeds for Kharif season i.e. monsoon eggplant. Any variety of eggplant can be planted for cultivation in Rabi season, but perennial varieties should be planted for cultivation in the Kharif season.
Growing seedlings
For eggplant cultivation, seedlings are first planted in the seedbed and then planted in the mainland. The seedbed should be made in a place where rainwater will not stand. The seedbed should have a good drainage facility, always get light and air i.e. shade-free.
How to make seedbed for seedlings
To make the seedbed, the soil should be cultivated deeply (at least 20 cm). The soil in the seedbed should be fertile. Organic fertilizers and small amounts of phosphate fertilizers should be added to the soil if fertility is low. 0.10 cubic meter of decomposed cow dung manure and 30 grams of TSP manure can be used for each square meter of the seedbed.
After properly cultivation, the entire land should be divided into a few small seedbeds. Each seedbed should be 3-5 cubic meters in length, one meter in the width and 15 cm from the side. Besides, 50-60 cm space should be kept between the two seedbeds. The seedbed should be high with soil. If you want to produce a small number of seedlings then you can use wooden boxes, plastic trays, or large tubs.
If you want to cultivate one hectare of land then it requires 250-300 grams of seed. It takes 14-18 grams of seed for 3 meters 1-meter size seedbed. Then for 250-300 grams of seeds, the number of seedbeds will be 16-20. 1 gram of eggplant seed contains about 200-250 seeds and 75-80 percent of the seeds germinate. Seeds can be sown in the seedbed by scattering or can be sown in rows.
When seeds are weaving in rows, the distance from row to row is 5 cm. After sowing the seeds, the soil in the seedbed should be lightly compacted. It is better for growing seedlings if the distance of seedlings to the seedbed is 2-3 cm. The seedlings should be lightly irrigated by watering can after sowing the seeds. If necessary, the seedbed can be covered with dry straw or polythene sheets or sacks. In summer, light irrigation is required in the morning and evening. Light irrigation should be given for 2-3 days interval after the seedling emergence.
Land preparation and planting of seedlings
Generally, in order to prepare the field, the soil should be plowed 4-5 times following with laddering. 35-45 days old seedlings are suitable for planting. At this time, the seedlings have 5-6 leaves and about 15 cm tall. Eggplant seedlings can be planted even if they are a little older. If necessary, you can keep the seedlings in the seedbed for up to two months.
How to plant eggplant seedlings
Before transplanting the seedlings the soil of the seedbed should be soaked with water about 1-2 hours so that the roots are not damaged during pulling out the seedlings. The planting distance of seedling depends on variety, soil fertility, and cultivation season. In the case of large eggplant varieties usually plant to plant distance should be 90 cm and row to row distance should be 60 cm.
In the case of small eggplant varieties usually plant to plant distance should be 75 cm and row to row distance should be 50 cm. It is better the seedlings should be planted in the afternoon so that they do not dry out immediately after planting.
Fertilizer application
Eggplant absorbs large amounts of nutrients from the soil. Therefore, the optimum production of eggplant is not possible without the application of fertilizer. The amount of fertilizer depends on the fertility status of the soil. The following prescribed amount of fertilizer per hectare may be recommended for eggplant cultivation.
The first installment of fertilizer should be given 10-25 days after planting, the second installment should be given when the fruits begin to bear and the third installment should be given in the middle of harvest. If there is no enough moisture in the soil, irrigation should be given immediately after the application of fertilizer.
Insect management of eggplant
Borer is the most harmful insects of eggplant. This insect bore the tip and the fruit of an eggplant. In some areas, tiny red spiders are the main enemy. In addition, thorns, epilechna beetles, aphids, scorpions, leaf-rolling insects, thrips, cutworms, etc. damage the eggplant. Measures should be taken to control these insects through IPM (Integrated pest management) system.
Disease management of eggplant
Wilting and root rot are two deadly diseases of eggplant. The disease can be seen in almost eggplant fields. Many eggplants are also damaged by fruit rot. Dumping off disease in the seedbed causes serious damage to seedlings. In addition, diseases such as mosaic, little leaf, root knots, etc. also cause considerable damage to the eggplant crop.
Fruit collection and yield
Fruits should be collected before they are fully ripe. The suitable time for fruit collection is when the fruit is full size but the seeds are not hard. The skin of the fruit will be bright and shiny during collection. When it is more mature, the fruit turns greenish-yellow or tan and the shell becomes hard and sponge-like.
How to determine the perfect time of harvesting eggplant
Determine the perfect time of harvesting eggplant that can be done with the pressure of the finger. In this case, if it is pressed with the help of two fingers, it sits down and if it is pressed out it returns to its previous state, then it should be understood that the eggplant is young. It is not the perfect time of harvesting.
If the eggplant is pressed, it feels soft, but it does not sit down and fingerprints are marked on the eggplant then it is the perfect time of harvesting. Fruit quality is better if the fruit is harvested at a young age, but the yield is less. Eggplant is suitable for eating from the time of fruit growth until it reaches the near maturity stage. It usually takes about 1 month to get the fruits after flowering. Depending on the variety, the yield is 17-64 tons per hectare.
Keyword: Step-by-step How To Grow Eggplant (A Complete Guideline)