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What came first? The eggplant or the egg? You would expect the fruits of the eggplant to be egg-shaped. In some cases this is true, but depending on the cultivar, many different shapes and sizes can be found.
Eggplant (a.k.a. Aubergine) is the fruit of a plant which is closely related to tomato, potato and chili peppers. Originally a tropical crop, it is now also sometimes grown in (heated) greenhouses in cooler climates.
This page provides some basic information on eggplant, some photos and recipes.
| Scientific name: | Solanum melongena |
| Family: | Solanaceae (night-shade family) |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Common names: | English: Eggplant, Brinjal |
| French: Aubergine | |
| Italian: Melanzana | |
| Spanish: Berenjena | |
| Dutch: Aubergine, Eierplant, Eiervrucht, Melanzaanappel | |
| Origin: | India and Sri Lanka |
| Distribution: | All tropical and subtropical regions, but main production is in China, India, Egypt and Turkey. |
| Annual, biennial, or perennial: | Perennial but often grown as an annual. |
| Flowers: | Flowers have white or purple color. |
| Leaves: | Eggplant leaves are lobed. Leaves are 10 to 20 cm long and 5 to 10 cm broad. The stems can be spiny and also sometimes leaves have spines. |
| Fruits: | In wild eggplants the fruit is rather small (size of an egg) but in cultivated plants the fruits can be much bigger with a variety of shapes, from round, to oval to elongated. |
| Climate and weather: | Eggplant requires a tropical or subtropical climate. It can be grown in temperate areas during the warmer part of the year. It cannot tolerate frost. |
| Pollination: | |
| Height: | Eggplants are usually from 40 to 150 cm tall. |
| Blooming period | |
| Type of soil: | |
| Preferred pH: | |
| Moisture: | |
| Light: | |
| Growth rate: | |
| Spacing (close range) | 45 cm between plants and 60 cm between tows |
| Spacing (wide range) | 60 cm between plants and 90 cm between rows (spacing depends on cultivar) |
| Propagation: | Eggplants are usually grown from seed. Sometimes graffting on disease tolerant rootstock. |
| Insect pests: | A major pest of eggplant is the fruit and shoot borer, a caterpillar that lives inside the stems (causing wilted shoots) or in the fruits. |
| Diseases: | Verticillium and some other fungal diseases. |
| Fruit development: | |
| Harvesting: | Ripe fruits are usually cut from the vine with a knife. |
| Uses: | Fruits are cooked, fried, baked, roasted, or used in stews. Raw fruits have a rather bitter taste. |
Recipes
No recipe yet :(
