Eggplant Growing and Harvesting Times, and Treatment Methods for Flowering, Fruit Setting and Pest Infestation

Eggplant, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It is the fruit of the plant eggplant (Solanum melongena) in the nightshade family, genus Solanum. It is found throughout the country. It has the effects of clearing heat, invigorating blood circulation and reducing swelling. It is often used for bloody stool due to intestinal wind, heat-toxin sores and carbuncles, and skin ulcers.When is eggplant generally planted and harvested? What treatments are used for flowering, fruit setting and pest infestation?

When is eggplant generally planted and harvested?

Planting:

The sowing time of eggplant is determined by the planting time and the seedling age. The suitable sowing time is calculated backwards from the artificially determined planting time minus the seedling age. It should be determined according to the production plan, local climate conditions, seedbed equipment, seedling-raising techniques and variety characteristics and other specific conditions. For example: for open-field early spring cultivation of eggplant, planting in the Northeast region after May 10 requires a seedling age of 80-90 days, so the seedling-raising time should be in mid-February. Seedling-raising techniques and facility conditions should also be taken into account. For example, only when large seedlings are raised in plastic nutrient pots or nutrient soil blocks can the sowing time be advanced. Otherwise, a smaller nutrient area will cause seedlings to grow leggy or suffer excessive root damage when transplanted and slow recovery, affecting early yield. When using electric heating hotbeds for seedling raising, seedlings grow faster, and when the seedlings are uniform in size, the required seedling age is shorter than that for ordinary hotbed seedling raising. Therefore, the sowing time can be appropriately delayed. In short, the determination of sowing time must be considered comprehensively to ensure timely planting.

Harvest:

1. The harvest season for eggplant is June to July in summer, but now with greenhouses, eggplant can be eaten all year round.

2. Eggplant is not tolerant of waterlogging. After planting in summer, eggplant quickly enters the high-temperature rainy season. Sandy loam soil with higher terrain should be chosen for cultivation. The planting period for eggplant is generally from early June to early July after the wheat harvest.

3. In order to bring it to market earlier and improve economic returns, harvesting must be done at the right time and early; do not wait until it is overripe to harvest, so as to avoid reducing the eating quality of the fruit and affecting the fruit setting and growth of later fruits as well as the growth of the plant. The suitable harvest time for eggplant is before the “eggplant eye” closes, that is, where the calyx connects to the fruit, when there is very little white part on the skin, indicating that the fruit is growing slowly and has entered the seed development stage. Harvesting at this time is appropriate; too early affects yield, and too late affects quality. In early spring cultivation, the first eggplant and the second eggplant can be harvested a little earlier than this stage. The best harvesting time is in the morning or evening. At noon, sunlight is strong, the eggplant skin color is dark, and the temperature is high, so it easily wilts and does not store well; therefore, it is not suitable for harvesting.

What treatments are used for flowering, fruit setting and pest infestation in eggplant?

Flowering: For flower-dabbing in greenhouse eggplant, the commonly used agents are 4-CPA, fruit-setting agent, 2,4-D and so on. Flower dabbing should be done when the eggplant flower is about to open from the bud stage to just opening; treatment effects are not ideal for flowers that have not fully grown or flowers that are fully open. A color should be added to the flower-dabbing agent as a marker, and an appropriate amount of procymidone should be added to prevent gray mold. Flower dabbing should be done before 10 a.m. and after 2 p.m.

Fruit setting: Potassium fertilizer can be applied; potassium fertilizer helps the fruit and rhizomes expand and become thick and strong, colors the fruit skin, and makes fruit setting easier.

Pest infestation: 1. Tobacco cutworm (black-headed worm) (1) Remove eggs and larval masses; (2) You can choose 4.5% Arruibao emulsifiable concentrate at 1500 times dilution; 2.5% Mengweiling at 1500-2000 times dilution; 1.8% abamectin at 1500 times dilution.

2. For thrips, you can choose 5% Jiyadi at 800-1200 times dilution; 25% imidacloprid at 3000 times dilution + Haoniandong at 600 times dilution; 40% Qixingbao at 800 times dilution; 70% Aimeile at 6000-10000 times dilution, sprayed in rotation for control.

3. For red spider mites, you can choose 20% dicofol at 800-1000 times dilution; 2.5% Tianwangxing at 1500-2000 times dilution; 35% Qingman at 3000-5000 times dilution for spray control.

4. For broad mites, you can choose 73% propargite at 2000-3000 times dilution; 20% Manke at 1000-1500 times dilution; 40% Man'aomei at 1500-3000 times dilution; 34% Jinpian Sumanchuo at 1500-3000 times dilution for spray control.

In addition, the control of the four common major diseases:

1. Young leaf yellowing disease

Eggplant young leaves appear yellow-white, with residual green at the leaf tips, and rust-colored streaks appear on the middle and lower leaves. Excessive fertilizer, high humidity, acidic soil or excess manganese nutrition, which inhibits iron absorption, can easily lead to yellowing of new leaves. Spray ferrous sulfate at 500 times dilution on the leaf surface; apply magnesium hydroxide and lime in the field to adjust soil pH; supplement potassium to balance nutrition and satisfy or promote iron supply.

2. Flower buds not opening disease

The eggplant ovary does not expand, and the flower buds remain tight and do not open, affecting pollination and fertilization and resulting in stiff fruit. In cold seasons, when the field lacks water, the air is humid, and the soil pH is above 7.5, the availability of boron in the soil decreases; excessive lime calcium in the field induces boron deficiency in the plant, both of which can cause flower buds not to open for a long time. Spray borax at 700 times dilution or amino acid polypeptide pollination agent on the leaf surface.

3. Fruit stiffness and cracking disease

Eggplant fruit becomes stiff and does not expand, the spongy tissue is tight, the skin color is dull, and there are pale stripes; after watering it becomes cracked fruit, does not grow large, and has poor quality. After the eggplant skin becomes suberized, watering on a sunny day will cause fruit cracking. During periods of low temperature and weak light and high temperature and strong light, just when the fruit is expanding, the absorption of nitrogen, potassium and boron increases, while the relative demand for phosphorus is smaller. If the input of phosphorus is too large, it affects the absorption of potassium and boron, making the fruit have many seeds and little flesh and become stiff. Phosphate fertilizer is mainly applied under the seedling roots at planting time; later, apply 2-3 kg of pure phosphorus per mu each time, and mainly apply potassium fertilizer during the fruiting period.

4. Leaf drop and fruit drop disease

During low-temperature periods, lower leaves turn yellow and fall off, and during high-humidity periods, young fruits soften and fall off on their own. If the temperature is too low, and nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers are applied excessively, making the soil concentration high, the plant will age due to long-term nutritional imbalance; this is the aftereffect of reduced gibberellin synthesis in the plant caused by zinc deficiency. The junctions between the petiole and stem and between the fruit stalk and fruit abscise after forming an abscission layer due to lack of auxin. For aging seedlings, spray zinc sulfate at 700 times dilution on the leaf surface, or apply 1 kg of zinc sulfate per mu, or spray nutrients rich in zinc such as Lülang on the leaf surface to prevent dropping and promote growth.