Eggplant is quite popularly seen in the kitchen of most houses. Some people love to eat eggplant, while others hate it. But the people who love to eat them rarely think of growing them in their field.
Some eggplant species take up ample space in your field for growing, while others can even grow in pots. They require a good amount of sunlight for proper growth. Eggplants are native to Asia and are called brinjal in some parts of the World.
Temperature fluctuation. Shortage of water and nutrients and lack of pollination affect the eggplant significantly, and the flowers can dry and fall without producing fruit.
The article discusses how to increase eggplant yield. So, keep reading this article to learn some of the essential tips on increasing the production of eggplants.
MORE POSTS: How to grow jalapenos from store-bought peppers?
What Are The Best 13 Ways How To Increase Egg Plant Yield?
Eggplant or brinjal is a warm-season vegetable usually harvested in late summer. Right atmospheric and soil conditions are necessary for the egg plant’s proper growth and to increase its production rate in your land.
Below are a few tips and tricks that will help you increase the production of eggplant and enhance the fruit’s size.
1. Choose Egg Plant Species Wisely
Eggplant pieces are available in markets like Fairy tale, white eggplant, Japanese eggplant, Indian eggplant, and others. You need to choose the one that can produce higher production quickly.
We list a few species with a higher production rate and good taste below.
- Pusa Purple Long
This eggplant species will harvest within 100 days after sowing seeds in the summer or spring. You can generate almost 300 quintals if you sow seeds in one hectare.
- Pusa Hybrid 5
This species harvest after 85 days of sowing in the summer season. The brinjal is deep purple color and looks quite attractive. The peduncles of brinjal are a bit colored and weigh nearly 25-30 grams. You can generate almost 510 quintals of this eggplant species in one hectare.
- Akra Navneet
It is another eggplant species, and you can generate more than 600 quintals in one hectare. The brinjals are dark purple and oval in shape.
- Akra Nidhi
It is the next eggplant species with a higher production rate. The brinjal color is usually greenish purple and is used mainly for cooking purposes.
2. Grow Egg Plants In the Proper Season
You must plant the eggplants in the proper season for higher production. They grow well in the long summer season. Eggplants need abundant sunlight for adequate growth. The soil temperature must be 70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit while sowing seeds.
If you stay in a place with a short summer season and long cold nights, eggplant fails to produce a good yield.
3. Choose The Right Soil
Eggplants can grow in any type of soil. But the best soil for eggplants is sandy or loamy soil. The PH value should be at least 6-6.5(acidic) for the proper growth of the plant.
If you are growing brinjal in your field, then plow it almost 4-5 times. Additionally, the organic fertilizers should be spread uniformly all over the soil for a higher yield.
4. Sowing Seeds And Transplantation
You can sow seeds in raised beds, yards, pots, or seedling trays and later transplant them into the yard. You should sow seeds with a maximum depth of 1 to 2mm in the soil. The Eggplants germinate within 7 to 14 days.
Wait for 6-7 weeks, and then you can transplant them into your yard. The height of the eggplants will be 12-15 cm at that time, and there will be approximately 4-5 leaves in each plant.
Before transplantation, you must dip the eggplant roots in 2 grams of Bavistin in one liter of water. It will prevent diseases from occurring in eggplant.
Water the soil thoroughly in your yard before three days of transplantation for good results. Additionally, leave almost one-meter space between two eggplant saplings.
You can plant almost 7000 saplings in one acre. It is estimated that you can generate nearly 120-130 quintals in one acre of land.
5. Pruning
You need to trim the plants for better yield. So once you see the plant blooming, you need to trim it. You will find the first flower to bloom, mainly in the crotch area. You must cut the leaf and stems from this area for better growth. Additionally, if you find any yellow leaves in the plant, then remove them.
6. Add Support
Once the eggplant starts to grow, it will try to fall when loaded with fruit. Rember, the plants need to grow straight for proper growth. So, you have added support to prevent the eggplant from falling. Try to use a stick or trellis to keep the eggplant straight.
7. Location
matters a lot for growing an eggplant. The eggplant should receive at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight for proper growth.
Additionally, the flowers of the eggplant can attract butterflies and various insects. So, always grow where insects will be away from the plants.
You should not spray any chemicals as they can harm the fruit and insects.
8. Water
You need to water the plants regularly for proper growth. Always keep the soil moist for the proper growth of the plant. If you don’t give enough water to the plant, it will fail to produce big and tasty fruit.
9. Flowers Drying Off
The brinjal flowers can dry and fall from the plant for the following reasons.
- Issue in temperature
- Watering problem
- Improper nutrition
- Lack of water
Brinjal plants need deep watering for proper growth. All the roots of the plant will get enough water and grow healthily. The flowers will fall off if you don’t water your plant properly.
The next reason is inadequate pollination. Brinjal plants depend on wind pollination and don’t rely on butterflies or any other insects to pollinate. But if the weather is scorching and humid, the pollen can become sticky, and thus it cannot fall on the flower’s pistil.
Improper nutrition in the soil is also another reason the flowers can dry on the plant.
Again if the plant doesn’t receive the proper amount of sunlight, then the flowers can dry and fall from the plant. Excess temperature, i.e., above 35 degrees Celsius, is also bad for the eggplant.
So, these four factors should be kept in mind while growing eggplants in your field.
10. Fertilizer And Manure
Both fertilizer and manure are pretty necessary for the proper growth of the plant. When preparing the field, you must add almost 250 quintals of manure or compost in one hectare of field.
The brinjal crop requires fertilizer to thrive. You must add nitrogen, phosphorous, and potash to the soil for good results. Remember, the flowers fail to produce fruit if the soil lacks nitrogen and phosphorous. The leaves will also become yellow because of a lack of nutrients.
Nitrogen is essential for growing eggplant and producing fruit. You can add NPK fertilizer to the growing plant for the best results. But if you add excess fertilizer then it can negatively affect an eggplant.
11. Protect Egg Plants From Insects
Eggplants can be attacked by various insects and damage the plant. For instance, aphids can attack plants and restrict their growth of the plant and can make the leaves bend/
Secondly, spider mites are the most popular insects which attack brinjal. These insects will make a web below the leaves and draw the sap.
Flea beetles also attack eggplants. But they attack mainly in the sapling stage. Once the plant matures it develops resistance against the flea beetles.
Well, you can use organic pest control to control these insects. If aphids have attacked your eggplant, spray water over the foliage and pick these insects by hand.
12. Irrigation
Field irrigation is quite vital for developing healthy fruit. So the soil must be irrigated every two to three days in summer. If you grow in winter, the soil must be irrigated every 7-10 days for best results.
13. Harvesting
You can harvest your eggplant after 65-85 days of transplanting saplings in the field. You can harvest the fruit when it is 4-6 inches long. If you grow brinjal more than 6 inches, it will be bitter, and you may not like it.
Wrap Up
You can follow the above thirteen tips to grow many eggplants in your field. However, you can grow eggplants in a pot. The pot can be made from any material like cement or clay. It should have good drainage holes so the soil can drain all the excess water.
Keep the pot in a place that should receive a good amount of sunlight. Water the plant through and add fertilizer from time to time. It will help you to produce eggplants in your own terrace or garden.
Thank you for reading this article, and please post pictures of eggplants that you have grown in your field. We will be glad to see those pictures.
Happy Gardening!
MORE POSTS: How to grow edamame from store bought?