Eggplant planting technology and management

Eggplant is widely grown throughout our country and has many varieties. No matter which variety it is, it is a popular vegetable in people's daily life. However, as the scale of cultivation continues to expand, a series of problems have also arisen, which have led to a significant reduction in eggplant production. Let’s learn about eggplant planting techniques and management.

1. Cultivation techniques

1. Soil preparation

The ideal eggplant planting base should be sandy loam or loam with high terrain, fertile soil, deep soil layer, good drainage and strong air permeability. The soil for raising seedlings should avoid being used on land where solanaceous fruits, melon vegetables, potatoes or tobacco have been planted in the past 2-3 years. It is best to choose land where beans or onions and garlic crops have been planted before, and use soil within 15 cm of the surface. Fertilizers should be fully fermented pig, cattle, horse manure and an appropriate amount of wood ash to reduce pests and diseases. During the seedling raising period, the suitable temperature should be maintained at 25-28℃ during the day and 18-20℃ at night. When sowing, use 10-15 grams of seeds per square meter and sow them appropriately. Transplant the seedlings when they have 3-4 true leaves and carry out low-temperature hardening one week before transplanting.

2. Timing of sowing

Eggplants planted in spring should be sown in December, transplanted in late February of the following year, and harvested at the end of April. For autumn planting, seeds are sown and seedlings are raised in May, transplanted in June, and harvested in August-September. The thousand-grain weight of eggplant seeds is about 4-5 grams, and the seed dosage per acre for seedling transplanting is 15-20 grams.

3. Land preparation and planting

Choose fertile, well-drained land for eggplant cultivation and avoid continuous planting of Solanaceae crops. The land is deeply tilled and dried to break up the soil clods. When preparing the land, apply 50-80 kg of lime powder per mu to disinfect the soil and adjust the pH. Eggplant has a high demand for fertilizer, so before transplanting, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied (2,000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure and 50 kg of compound fertilizer per mu), and high ridges should be used for planting. The bed is about 30 cm high and 1.8 meters wide, planted in double rows with a plant spacing of 45-50 cm. About 1,400 plants are planted per acre. When planting in single rows, the bed width is 1.3 meters, the plant spacing is 45 centimeters, and about 1,000 plants are planted per acre. Water immediately after planting, and reduce watering after the seedlings survive to encourage the roots to penetrate deep into the soil.

2. Field Management

1. Water and fertilizer management

About 15 days after the eggplants are planted, shallow tillage and weeding should be carried out, and fertilizer for promoting seedling growth should be applied in combination with small soil cultivation. 10-20 dan of dilute human manure and urine should be applied per mu. After the plant produces root tomatoes, remove the side branches below the root tomatoes to reduce nutrient consumption. At this time, the plants have not yet completely closed the row, so deep plowing, weeding, soil cultivation, and heavy topdressing should be carried out, with 50 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer per mu. In the middle and late stages, apply fertilizer once after every two fruit harvests, applying 15-20 kg of compound fertilizer per mu.

Eggplant requires less water in the early stages of growth, and moderate drought is beneficial to flower bud differentiation and increasing fruit setting rate. After the root eggplant is firmly established, the plant's water demand increases, and the soil should be kept moist and properly irrigated.

2. Plant management

Eggplant grows vigorously, has many side branches, and its leaves grow rapidly, especially when the temperature is right and there is plenty of fertilizer. Overcrowding will cause flowers to fall off, fruits to rot, and affect fruit color. Therefore, proper pruning of eggplant can increase yield.

Leaves are key organs for producing and accumulating nutrients. The more leaves an eggplant has, the more nutrients it can produce and accumulate. However, too many leaves will affect ventilation and light transmission, and old and diseased leaves have weak nutrient production capabilities and may also spread diseases. Therefore, proper pruning of leaves and removal of old and diseased leaves are beneficial to plant growth and fruiting.

Leaf pruning should be done in several times to remove weak branches and side branches at the base, as well as old and diseased leaves, and appropriately remove dense healthy leaves to keep the leaves sparse and even to facilitate ventilation and light transmission. Eggplant should be pruned 4-5 times during its growth period to avoid excessive pruning at one time. The amount of pruning also needs to be adjusted according to factors such as variety, fertilizer, and weather. Generally, varieties with weak branching ability require less pruning than varieties with strong branching ability; varieties with early growth stages require less pruning than varieties with late growth stages; varieties with less fertilizer require less pruning than varieties with sufficient fertilizer; and varieties with dry weather require less pruning than varieties with wet and rainy weather.

In order to promote more flowering, shorten the pollination time and facilitate concentrated pollination, it is necessary to remove the eggplant buds and all the side branches below them (one side branch can be left for medium and late-maturing varieties) to maintain the plant's dichotomous branching. After the pollination of the four-door bucket is completed, leave 3 leaves on the top and insert a support to prevent lodging and reduce fruit rot.

Remove the side branches below the root eggplant to prevent the branches and leaves from consuming too much nutrients.

Picking leaves: Picking leaves helps ventilation and light transmission, and reduces the ineffective consumption of nutrients by the lower old leaves. After the plants are closed in rows, diseased leaves, old leaves, yellow leaves and overcrowded leaves should be removed in time.

Pruning: Eggplant is a double-branched crop, so double-trunk pruning is generally done, that is, leaving two branches above the eggplant, one eggplant on each branch, and two eggplants on each layer. When the eggplant grows to half its size, pinch off the side branches at each level, leaving 2-3 leaves.

Fruit thinning: Remove underdeveloped young fruits, deformed fruits and diseased fruits in time.

The above is an introduction to the key points of eggplant planting and management techniques. Eggplant planting needs to be considered comprehensively in combination with geographical environment, planting time, and planting varieties.