What are the three main categories of eggplant? Understanding common varieties in one article
Eggplant is a fairly tasty vegetable that many people love to eat. In rural areas, almost every household grows eggplant; after all, it is a fairly common vegetable. So, if eggplant is classified by shape, what are the three main categories? And what common varieties are there? Next, the editor will give you a detailed introduction. After reading it, you will gain some knowledge.
I. What are the three main categories of eggplant?
If classified by the appearance of the eggplant, it is usually divided into these three main categories:
1. Round eggplant
The plant is tall and the fruit is large, round, oblate, or oval-shaped, with skin that is purple, dark purple, reddish purple, or greenish white. It is not tolerant of heat and humidity, and is grown more in northern China. Most varieties are mid- or late-maturing. The main varieties include Beijing Dahongpao, Liuye Qie, Jiuye Qie, Shandong Dahongpao, and Tianjin Ermin Qie.
2. Long eggplant
The plant has moderate vigor, and the fruit is slender and club-shaped, reaching more than 30 cm in length, with skin that is purple, green, or light green. It is tolerant of heat and humidity, and is commonly cultivated in southern China. Most varieties are mid- or early-maturing. Varieties include Nanjing Zixian Qie, Beijing Xian Qie, Guangdong Zi Qie, and Chengdu Hei Qie.
3. Dwarf eggplant
The plant is relatively short, and the fruit is small, oval or long-oval in shape. It has more seeds and poorer quality, and most are early-maturing varieties, including Jinan Yiwohou and Beijing Xiaoyuan Qie.
II. What common varieties of eggplant are there?
1. Jingqie No. 10
This eggplant is a first-generation hybrid of a mid-maturing long eggplant with excellent traits such as high yield and disease resistance. The plant has strong growth vigor and an upright plant type, dark green leaves, large leaves, and many fruits per plant. The fruit is long club-shaped, with a fruit length of 30-40 cm, a fruit diameter of 6-7 cm, and a single fruit weight of about 300 g, with a yield of more than 4000 kg per mu. The skin is purple-black and glossy, the flesh is light greenish white, tender, of good quality, and with good marketability.
2. Zijinguan eggplant
This eggplant variety has strong growth vigor, with a plant height of about 150 cm. The stems, leaves, veins, petioles, fruit stalks, and calyx are all green. The fruit is long oval and glossy black-purple, with a fruit length of 25-30 cm and a single fruit weight of 700-1000 g. The flesh is white, fresh and tender, with few seeds and not easy to become old. It is tolerant of weak light and can color normally in protected cultivation. It is suitable for protected cultivation, open-field cultivation, and long-season cultivation.
3. Jingqie No. 1
This eggplant has strong growth vigor, an upright plant, and a compact plant type. The flower buds are large, fruit set is easy, fruit development is fast, and vine and fruit growth are coordinated. The plant has good continuous fruiting, with an average of 5-8 fruits per plant and a single fruit weight of 600-900 g. The flesh is light greenish white, sweet, tender in texture, and good in flavor.
4. Jingqie No. 20
This is a first-generation eggplant hybrid with strong growth vigor, tolerance to storage and transport, and suitability for long-season cultivation in protected cultivation. The plant has a well-developed root system, the main stem grows quickly, growth vigor is extremely strong, and the stem height can reach more than 2.5 m. The leaves are large and green. The fruit is black-purple, with smooth and glossy skin and excellent glossiness. The fruit stalk and calyx are bright green, without thorns. The fruit is club-shaped, with a fruit length of 25-30 cm, a fruit diameter of 5-7 cm, and a single fruit weight of 200-250 g. The skin is thick, not easy to lose water, has a long shelf life, and high commercial value. This variety is tolerant of low temperature and weak light, has strong stress resistance, and under long-season cultivation in protected cultivation can yield more than 18000 kg per mu.
5. Zaohongguan eggplant
Zaohongguan eggplant is early-maturing, grows vigorously, begins flowering at the 8th-9th node, and has a high fruit-setting rate. The fruit is oval, 18-20 cm long and 13-15 cm thick. The young fruit is purple-red, and the marketable fruit is bright red with good glossiness. It is resistant to aging, has few seeds, and the flesh is fine and dense with slight elasticity and no off-flavor. The quality is excellent, and the single fruit weight is about 300 g. It is disease-resistant, high-quality, and high-yielding, and is suitable for early-maturing cultivation in areas that prefer canned eggplant.
6. Zijin long eggplant
This eggplant has strong and robust growth, with a plant height of 130 cm, a fruit diameter of 40 cm, and a single fruit weight of 200-300 g. The flesh is white and tender, with excellent quality, and it can be eaten raw or cooked. It is drought-tolerant and waterlogging-tolerant, highly disease-resistant, does not decline early, and has strong tolerance to low temperature and weak light. It is suitable for protected and open-field cultivation, and its thick skin makes it suitable for transport.
7. Zaohong niujiao eggplant: early-maturing, grows vigorously, and tolerant of low temperature. It begins flowering at the 8th-9th node, has many branches and a high fruit-setting rate. The fruit is long club-shaped, 25-30 cm long and 4-5 cm in diameter. The young fruit is purple-red, and the marketable fruit is bright red with good glossiness. It is resistant to aging, has few seeds, tender flesh, and excellent quality, with a single fruit weight of 250-350 g. It is disease-resistant, early-maturing, high-quality, and high-yielding, and is suitable for planting in areas that prefer long eggplant.
Eggplant is a vegetable we often eat in daily life. Perhaps we have eaten one or two kinds of eggplant, while some are unfamiliar. The editor has shared seven fairly common eggplant varieties above. Have you eaten all of them? Which one do you think is the most delicious?
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