How to prevent and control low-temperature injury in eggplant? A detailed guide to the latest methods

During seedling raising or early and late cultivation of eggplant, it often suffers from chilling injury and freezing injury, and we call this phenomenon low-temperature injury. It can seriously affect the growth and development of eggplant and also cause a serious impact on later yield, so how should low-temperature injury be prevented and controlled? Follow the editor to learn about it.

1. Near-ground mulching

During greenhouse cultivation, multiple materials such as plastic film, straw curtains, thermal insulation quilts, and plastic mulch can be used in combination for mulching, thereby achieving the purpose of heat preservation. Because different insulation materials have different warming effects, generally each additional layer of film can increase the temperature by 2-3 degrees and reduce heat loss by 30%-50%, while covering a second layer can increase the temperature by 6 degrees. If it is open-field cultivation, in the early stage plastic mulch can be used for near-ground mulching of seedlings, so that the seedlings are entirely below the plastic mulch, which gives a better heat preservation effect.

Before a cold wave arrives, relying only on the greenhouse and multi-layer mulching cannot meet the temperature requirements of eggplant, so heating measures need to be taken immediately. According to one's own conditions, various means such as flue heating, electric heating wires, and small water-heating boilers can be used to supplement heat. However, open-flame smoking must not be used, so as to avoid smoking the seedlings and also affecting life safety. In areas with conditions such as geothermal heat or waste heat from power plants, pipelines can be laid to use these heat sources to raise soil temperature.

3. Sowing and seedling raising

When sowing, the sowing period and planting date should be determined well, and sowing or planting should preferably be done on a windless sunny day at the end of a cold spell and the beginning of warmer weather, ensuring that the seedlings can emerge and survive safely. When raising seedlings, it is recommended to use nutrient pots, because black plastic nutrient pots have the effect of absorbing heat during the day and preserving heat and protecting roots at night. Generally, the temperature of nutrient pots differs from the outside temperature by 20 degrees, which can ensure the seedlings grow without freezing damage, and can also allow low-temperature hardening of seedlings to enhance cold resistance.

4. Foliar fertilization

In a low-temperature environment, the root absorption capacity of seedlings is poor, so at this time photosynthetic micro-fertilizer needs to be sprayed on the leaves to ensure that the seedlings do not develop deficiency symptoms due to insufficient nutrition. At the same time, rice vinegar can also be sprayed on the leaves, which can play a main role in inhibiting bacteria and repelling insects. The mixed use of rice vinegar, white sugar, and superphosphate can increase the sugar content of leaf mesophyll, improve leaf hardness, and improve cold resistance. At low temperatures, be careful not to use any growth regulators for growth in the greenhouse, so as not to affect the cold resistance of the seedlings.

The above is an introduction to the prevention and control methods for low-temperature injury in eggplant. I hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.