How To Grow Brinjal Organically

 

How To Grow Brinjal Organically

Botanical Name      :   Solanum melongena

Family                       :  Solanaceae

Chromosome No.   :   2n = 24 

                                                                   

Brinjal (Solanum melongena) is a very important vegetable. It has been cultivated since ancient times. Brinjal occupies a prominent place in the Solanaceae family. Its varieties have been divided into three parts on the basis of botanical species -

1. Varieties with long brinjals (snake egg plant) which come under the Serpentinum species.

2. Dwarf plants, and pear-shaped blue fruits which come under the Depressum species.

3. Species with round and oval varieties which come under the Esculentum species.

Brinjal is used in the form of vegetable, pakoras, bharta and nigella. Apart from this, it is also used as a medicine in Ayurveda.

History and origin - Mention of brinjal cultivation is found in the poems of around the fifth century. Brinjal is believed to have originated in the tropical regions of India and China. Even today, Brinjal is found growing naturally in forests in India. Brinjal has been cultivated in China since 1500 years ago. Brinjal is cultivated in almost all the states of the country except the hilly areas. Brinjal is cultivated in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Philippines in addition to India. It is grown throughout the year in the plains.

         How To Grow Brinjal From Seeds

Nutritional value - Brinjal is usually called Begun i.e. without qualities, but this notion is completely baseless. In terms of nutrition, it is almost similar to tomato. Bahuguni Brinjal contains abundant amount of nutrients. Which are shown in the table-

                                         ( Nutrition Value of Brinjal per 100 gm) 

Moisture                            : 92.70 g Protein                              : 1.40 g Fat                                     : 0.30 g Mineral                             : 0-30 g Fiber                                 : 1.30 g Other Carbohydrates     : 4.00 g Calcium                            : 18.00 mg Magnesium                      : 16.00 mg Oxalanic Acid                  : 18.00 mg Phosphorus                      : 47.00 mg Sodium                             : 30-00 mg Potassium                        : 2-00 mg Copper                             : 0-17 mg Sulfur                               : 44.00 mg Chlorine                           : 52.00 mg Thiamine                         : 0.04 mg Riboflavin                       : 0-11 mg Nicotinic Acid                : 0.09 mg  grams Vitamin C                      : 12-00 mg Vitamin A                      : 124-00 IU

Some medicinal properties are also found in brinjal. It is said to be an appetite enhancer, aphrodisiac, heart strengthener, beneficial for Vata and Kapha. White brinjal vegetable has been found to be very beneficial for diabetes patients. Brinjal seeds are appetite enhancers. In case of toothache, brinjal is eaten fried in sesame oil after pricking with a skewer. 1

Climate - Brinjal is a vegetable of tropical climate. It requires a long hot season. Most of its varieties require 3-4 months of frost-free time. Round fruited varieties are more tolerant to frost than long fruited vegetables. Germination of brinjal seeds is good at 25°C. 20-30°C temperature is the best for good growth of plants. When the daily average temperature is below 18°C, then planting of brinjal saplings should not be done at such a time. If the weather remains cold for a long period, it has an adverse effect on the growth of the plants. Even a little frost causes great damage.

Soil - Fertile sandy loam soil with proper drainage and pH value of 5.5-6-6 is considered the best. However, it can also be grown in clay loam soil with proper drainage. Some varieties of brinjal can also be grown in soils with high pH value, provided they are given abundant cow dung manure or green manure.

Improved/hybrid varieties - Improved varieties of brinjal, maturity, fruit qualities, average yield and recommended areas for growing are mentioned in the following table-

Improved varieties, maturity, fruit qualities, average yield and recommended areas for growing are mentioned in the table -

Variety		Fruit		Average yield tonne/ha	Recommended areas
		Size	Colour
ABH 1	Early	Round	Purple	37	Northern and central parts of India
ABH 2	Early	Round	Purple	39	Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat
Annamalai	Medium	Long	Light purple	25	Tamil Nadu
Arka Keshava	Medium	Long	Red	45	Mild climate of Southern India
Arka Kusumakar	Medium	Long-bunches	Green	45	Mild climate of Southern India
Arka Navaneet	Early	Round	Dark purple	60	Mild climate of Southern India
Arka  Neelkanth	Early	Long	Purple blue	40	Mild climate of Southern India
Arkanidhi	Early	Long	Red purple	35	Mild climate of Southern India, Mild climate of Southern India
Arkashil	Medium	Long	Dark purple	45	Mild climate of South India
Arkashirish	Medium	Long	Green	47	Mild climate of South India
Azadi B 1	Medium	Round	Purple	30	Uttar Pradesh
Azad Kranti	Early	Long	Purple	25	Plains of North and North Central India
Bhagyamathi	Ageet	Oblong	Light purple	15	Andhra Pradesh
BR 112	Medium	Round	Purple	35	Haryana
Ko. 1	Medium	Long	Light green	25	Tamil Nadu
Gujarat 6	Medium	Long	Purple black	25	Gujarat
Hisar Purple	Medium	Oblong	Dark purple	35	Haryana
Hisar Black	Medium	Round	Dark purple	35	Haryana
Purple Round	Medium	Round	Purple	25	Punjab
Jamunagarh Long	Medium	Long	Pink	25	Gujarat
K  2029	Medium	Round	Purple	35	Uttar Prades
Manjari Gota	Late	Round	Bicolour	15	Maharashtra
Masari Green	Early	Long	Green	25	Karnataka
NDB 25	Early	Long	Dark Purple	30	Uttar Pradesh
NDBH 1	Early	Long	Dark Purple	52	North and Central India
NDBH 6	Medium	Round	Dark Purple	53	Maharashtra and Gujarat
Pant Ritu Raj	Medium	Oval Round	Purple	35	All India
Pant Samrat	Early	Long Partial  Form In bunches	Purple	35	All India
P.H 4	Medium	Long	Purple	30	All India
Punjab Vahar	Late	Round	Purple	20	Spring-summer crop of Punjab
Punjab Barsati	Medium	Long In bunches	Purple	25	Punjab
Punjab Bright	Early	Long	Dark purple	25	Punjab
Punjab Evergreen	Early	Long	Dark purple	30	Punjab
Pusa Anupam	Medium	Long in bunches	Purple	30	Hilly and mild climate areas of South India
Pusa Bhairav	Early	Long	Dark purple	30	Phomopsis fruit rot resistant
Pusa Bindu	Early	Oval round	Purple	30	Maharashtra and Gujarat plains
Pusa Hybrid 5	Early	Long	Dark purple	45	North and Central India and Southern states
PusaHybrid 6	Early	Round	Dark purple	45	North and Central India
PusaHybrid 9	Early	Round	Dark purple	56	Maharashtra and Gujarat
Pusa Kranti	Medium	Long	Purple	35	All India
Pusa Parpil  Cluster	Medium	Long	Purple	30	Mild climate of hilly areas and South India
Pusa Purple Long	Very early	Purple	35	35	All India
Pusa Upkar	Early	Round	Dark purple	40	Northern plains of Maharashtra and Gujarat
Pusa Uttam	Early	Oval	Dark purple	40	Northern plains of Maharashtra and Gujarat
Pusa Ankur	Early	Round	Dark purple	25	All India
Type 3	Medium	Round	Light purple	25	Uttar Pradesh
Vaishali	Medium	Oval	Bicolor	25	Maharashtra
White Cluster	Early	Oval	White	20	Tamil Nadu

 

             How To Grow Brinjals

Preparation of land

First ploughing should be done with a soil turning plough. After this, 2-3 ploughings should be done with a cultivator or harrow. After every ploughing, be sure to use a leveller. Before transplanting, divide the field into beds as per the convenience of irrigation.

Seeds and sowing

Time of sowing and quantity of seeds - There are three main seasons for sowing brinjal which are mentioned below-

(1) Autumn-winter crop - For this crop, seeds are sown in the nursery from the end of June to mid-July and transplanting is done in July-August.

(2) Spring-summer crop - For this crop, seeds are sown in the nursery in October-November and transplanting of seedlings is done in January-February.

(3) Rainy season crop - For this crop, seeds are sown in the nursery in February-March and seedlings are planted in March-April.

Note - In hilly areas, brinjal crop is grown only in summer season. Seeds are sown in nursery from February to May and transplantation is done from April to June according to the altitude of the areas. Crop harvesting is completed by October-November.

Quantity of seeds - 400-500 grams of seed is sufficient for one hectare field.

Preparation of seedlings

Generally, for transplantation of one hectare area, seeds have to be sown in about 40-50 square meter area. For preparing nursery, select such a place where there is proper arrangement of irrigation and proper drainage system. Light loamy and sandy loamy land is considered best for nursery. The soil of nursery should be hoeed 4-5 times and made well friable. After this, 15-20 cm high and 1.25 meter wide and long beds should be made as per requirement. 30 cm distance should be left between two beds. A wide drain should be left which is used for irrigation and water drainage. Also, it is easy to do other agricultural work. A small amount of cow dung manure and super phosphate should be mixed and spread evenly in the beds. Two days before sowing the seeds in the nursery, it should be completely soaked in a solution of Captan, so that the plant can be saved from a disease called damping off. Before sowing the seeds, they should be treated with Thiram or Saresan at the rate of 2.5 grams per kilogram. The seeds should always be sown in rows made at a distance of 6-8 cm. The seeds should not be sown more than 1.0-1.5 cm deep. After sowing the seeds, they should be covered with a 1 cm thick layer of cow dung manure. After that, the beds should be covered with dry grass. Keep irrigating with a sprinkler before the seeds germinate. When the germination is complete, remove the grass. After this, keep irrigating regularly. Keep removing weeds from the nursery and also keep spraying medicines to protect from pests and diseases etc. In summer and rainy season, the plant becomes ready for planting in 4 weeks. Whereas in winter, the plant becomes ready for planting in 6-8 weeks.

     How To Grow Brinjal Plant In Pot

Manure and Fertilizers

The eggplant crop is of long duration. It gives high yield in soils with high fertility. At the time of field preparation, 200-300 quintals of cow dung or compost should be mixed in the field per hectare. Apart from this, 100 kg nitrogen, 60 kg phosphorus and 40 kg potash should be given per hectare. Half the quantity of nitrogen should be mixed with the full quantity of phosphorus and potash and put in 8-10 cm deep furrows at the time of final ploughing. Which should be at a distance of about 5-6 cm from the rows of plants. The remaining quantity of nitrogen should be divided into two equal parts and one part should be given as top dressing 30 days after transplantation and the other part 45 days after transplantation.

Planting of the plant

Light irrigation should be done 2-3 days before removing the plant from the nursery, so that the plant can be uprooted easily without damaging the roots. For long brinjal varieties, keep the distance between rows and plants 60 cm x 60 cm and for round brinjal varieties, keep it 75 cm x 60 cm. Irrigate immediately after planting the saplings.

Irrigation and water drainage

Irrigation of brinjal crop depends on many factors, the main ones being the type of soil, time of growing the crop and the environment. Tests have shown that 100-110 cm of water is required to get a high yield of brinjal. Excessive or insufficient irrigation has an adverse effect on the brinjal crop. Generally, it is advisable to irrigate once a week in summer and at an interval of 15 days in winter. Generally, the crop of rainy season does not require irrigation. If there is no rain for a long period, then irrigation should be done as per requirement. Drip irrigation is the best method for irrigating brinjal crop. This method requires less amount of water and also controls weeds.

Sometimes, due to excessive rainfall during rainy season, more water than required gets collected in the field. If such a situation arises, then arrangements should be made to drain out the excess water immediately, otherwise the plants will turn yellow and die.

Weed control

The growth of brinjal plants is slow, so they are unable to compete with weeds. Therefore, light weeding should be done during the initial growth of the plants. 3-4 weedings are sufficient during the entire crop period.

Spreading black polythene sheets as mulch has also been found useful for weed control. Doing so increases the growth of the crop. Also, the crop grows early and the yield also increases.

Herbicides can also be used for weed control. Spray 1.0-1.5 kg of active ingredient of fluchloralin per hectare. Do hand weeding once when the crop is 30 days old. Apart from this, spraying 1.5 kg/ha of Oxadiazon or 0.9-1.5 kg/ha of Treflan (Tri-fluoroline) before planting helps in better control of weeds.

Crop Protection

Insect Control

Epilekna Beetle - This insect starts causing damage from the nursery itself. The small larva of this insect is small and red in colour. Before this it is yellow in colour. This insect eats the leaves and makes them sieve-like. This insect causes damage up to 12.61 percent.

Control -

- Eggs, larvae and adults should be collected by hand and destroyed.

- 0.1 percent solution of carbaryl, indosulphan and malathion should be sprayed.

- Pest resistant varieties like Arka Shirish, Hisar Chayan 14, Hybrid Vijay should be grown.

Branch and Fruit Borer - The larvae of this insect are smooth and pink in colour and are almost hairless. There are purple stripes on its back. Its larvae enter the new branches by making holes. As a result, the branch withers and the growth of the plant stops. When the fruits are formed, these insects make holes and eat them. Due to which the fruits are not edible. The infestation of this insect is more in the rainy season crop than in the summer crop. This insect causes up to 70 percent damage.

Control -

- Break and destroy the insect-infested branches and fruits.

- Spray a solution of carbaryl (Sevin 50 percent soluble powder 2 grams per liter of water).

Or

- Spray a solution of Metasystox (2 ml per liter of water).

Or

- Spray a solution of Fenvalerate (Sumicidin 20 EC 0.5 ml / liter of water) at an interval of 15 days. Start this spraying at the time of fruit formation.

- Grow insect-resistant varieties such as Coimbatore H 151.

- Adopt a crop rotation of 4-5 years.

Stem borer - The larva of this insect enters the stem and the stem bends downwards. The affected plant becomes withered and scorched. The growth and development of the plant is adversely affected. The production capacity is adversely affected.

Control - Same as branch and fruit borer.

Green aphid (jassid) - These are small green coloured insects which are found in the lower parts of the leaves and they suck the juice of the leaves as a result of which the leaves get bent, wither and start drying from the edges and finally turn brown.

Control - 0.1% solution of Metasystox medicine (100 ml medicine in 100 liters of water) should be sprayed.

           How To Grow Brinjal In Pot

Red mite - This is a small insect which sucks the juice of the leaves and makes them weak as a result of which food production is adversely affected. The leaves turn yellow and start falling.

Control- 0.1% solution of Metasystox medicine (100 ml medicine in 100 liters of water) should be sprayed.

Disease control

Wet rot - This disease is caused by a fungus called Pythum apharidermatum. This disease affects plants grown in nurseries. Plants affected by this disease start rotting at the ground level itself. There is a fear of disease until the stem of the plants becomes so strong. Disease starts appearing a little above or below the ground as well. Wilting and drying of plants in the nursery is the main symptom of this disease.

Control -

- Spray a solution of Captan or Thiram (2 grams per liter of water) in the nursery 10 to 15 days before sowing the seeds.

- Treat the seeds with Captan or Thiram (2 grams per kg of seeds) before sowing.

- Always sow seeds in rows in the nursery. - Before sowing the seeds, they should be treated with hot water of 50°C for 30 minutes.

- As soon as the symptoms of the disease appear on the infected plants, they should be uprooted and destroyed.

- Follow a crop rotation of 3-4 years.

Phomopsis blight - This disease is caused by a fungus called Phomopsis vexans. This disease causes small round brown spots on the leaves. Irregularly shaped black spots appear on the edges of the leaves. The leaves of the infected plants turn yellow and dry up and fall when the wind blows. Brown formations like dust particles are visible in the spots on the fruits. Which later increases and the pulp there starts appearing dark due to rotting. These spots grow larger in size and make the fruits rot and fall on the ground. This disease also attacks the plants in the nursery. As a result, the plants get blighted. The fungus of this disease lives in the soil.

Control -

- Sow only seeds of healthy plants.

- Treat the seeds with Captan or Thiram before sowing.

- Grow disease resistant varieties like 'Pusa Bhairav' and 'Florida Market'.

- Spray 0.2% Captan in the nursery every week.

- Keep the field free from weeds.

- Before sowing the seeds, treat them in hot water at 50°C for 30 minutes.

- After transplanting, spray 0.2% Zineb or Manev.

Small leaf disease - This disease is caused by Mycoplasma. The diseased plant remains dwarf. The leaves remain small in size. The stem of the leaves also remains very small and they appear to be attached to the stem. The node part of the stem also becomes small. Usually, flowers do not form on the diseased plant and the plants become bushy. Even if fruits appear on these plants, they are very hard.

Control -

- Diseased plants should be uprooted and burnt.

- To protect the crop from leaf hopper, 0.1% Folidal should be sprayed at the time of fruit formation.

- Before transplanting, the plants should be soaked in 100 ppm tetracycline solution and

- Spraying should be done every week for 4-5 weeks after transplanting.

- Grow disease resistant varieties like Pusa Purple Cluster, Cutrine Selection 212-1, Selection 252-1-1 and Selection 252-2-1.

- Remove all diseased plants from the nursery and plant only healthy plants.

- Do not leave Ratoon crop.

Leaf spots - This disease is spread by four types of fungi; Such as- 1. Alternaria melanangii, 2. Alternaria solani, 3. Cercospora-solani melanangii and 4. Cercospora melanangii. Due to both the species of Alternaria, irregular shaped brown spots are formed on the leaves due to which the leaves turn yellow and fall. Fruits are also affected due to Alternaria melanangii. The infected fruits turn yellow and fall before ripening. Due to Cercospora species, angular to irregular shaped spots are formed on the leaves which later turn dull brown. In case of severe disease, leaves fall and less fruits are produced on the plants.

Control-

- The infected leaves should be plucked and burnt.

- The field should be kept free from weeds.

- 0.2 percent solution of Blitox (2 grams of medicine per liter of water) should be sprayed at an interval of 7-8 days.

- Disease resistant varieties; Grow varieties like Manjri Gota, Black Round, Junagarh Selection-11 (Long) P8, Pusa Purple Cluster and H4.

Nematodes - This disease is caused by many species of nematodes Meloidogyne. Due to this disease, knots are formed in the roots of the plants. The infected plants remain dwarf and appear weak. The leaves turn greenish yellow or yellow and hang or wither. The plant does not get destroyed due to this disease but it dries up when the knots rot. This disease causes up to 45-55 percent loss.

Control -

- Neem cake or wood sawdust should be added to the field at the rate of 25 quintals per hectare and mixed well in the soil.

- Purify the land with Nemagan at the rate of 12 liters per hectare three weeks before planting the saplings. - D.V.C.P. 20-40 litres per hectare should be mixed in the soil.

Use of growth regulators

There are four types of flowers in brinjal plants, viz., flowers with long style, flowers with medium style, short style and flowers with false style. Out of these, flowers with long and medium style produce fruits and the remaining two types of flowers fall off.

Tests have shown that if the seeds are soaked in a solution of 2, 4-D (4 parts chemical in 10 lakh parts water) for 24 hours before sowing or if a solution of 2 parts chemical in 10 lakh parts water is sprayed at the time of flowering, then the yield increases by about 40-50 percent.

Plucking of fruits

When the fruits are fully developed, soft and have also acquired colour, then they should be plucked. If fruits are plucked late, then the fruits become hard and the seeds in them also ripen. The colour of the fruits turns yellow. Due to which they become unsuitable for vegetable. Their price falls in the market. Usually, the fruits become ready for harvesting about 8-10 days after flowering.

How To Grow Brinjal Organically

Yield

The yield of brinjal depends on the fertility of the soil, the variety of brinjal and the care of the crop. Improved varieties give 250-300 quintals of yield per hectare, while hybrid varieties give up to 600 quintals of yield.

Seed Production

Seed is a self-pollinated crop, but some amount of cross-pollination also occurs by insects. Therefore, for high quality pure seed production, it is very important to keep a distance of 400, 200 and 100 meters respectively for nucleus, base and certified seed production in two varieties of brinjal (Aggarwal 1980) but according to Chaudhary (1976), a distance of 50-100 meters has been suggested. Nucleus seed fields should be kept away from commercial seed production fields.

In India, eggplant seeds can be produced both in the plains and mountains. For seed production, the crop should be sown in such a way that there is no rain at the time of crop ripening. Special protection is required to protect the autumn crop from frost.

For seed production, 70 kg nitrogen per hectare is sufficient for the eggplant crop. To get more seed yield per plant and good quality of the fruit, the distance between the rows should be kept between 75 cm and 100 cm.

When the fruits change their original colour and become completely yellow, it should be understood that the fruits have ripened. At that time, the fruits should be plucked and collected. Do not keep the ripe fruits for a long time. Beat them with a stick or a light 'wooden' so that the seeds get separated from the pulp. It would be better if each fruit is beaten separately. After this, cut the fruits lengthwise with a knife, fill water in a clean vessel, take out the seeds in the water and later dry them on tarpaulin or any other cloth. The moisture in the seeds should be up to 8 percent.

100-120 kg seeds are obtained per hectare from the plain areas, whereas 590-880 kg seeds are obtained from Kullu valley.