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Brinjal Cultivation Project

General Description about Brinjals

Brinjal also known as Eggplant is a hardy crop from the family of Solanummelongenapopularly grown in the tropics or subtropics in a well-drained, fertile, high yield soil.

It is known to be a common man’s vegetable. It is mostly purple coloured. This fruit is botanically classified as a berry which is spongy, absorbent and is used in several cuisines. Being a member of the solanum family, it is related to tomato, Chilli pepper and potato. The skin and seeds are eaten like tomatoes but are not eaten raw like a Potato. Its macronutrients and micronutrients  content is low but it adds flavour to the dishes.

Climatic Requirement

Being a warm season crop, it grows well in the summer season and is susceptible to severe frost. It often causes deformation of plants/vegetables due to cool temperatures during the winter season so it requires a long and warm season to grow the crop successfully in a desired way. The best temperature for optimum growth of brinjal is 25°C and an average daily temperature of 13 to 21°C.

Soil and its Preparation

It can be grown in almost all types of soils but it grows well in fine and rich loamy soils which are deep and well-drained because it is rich in organic matter with a pH of 6.5-7.5.

The soil is prepared by ploughing the field 4 to 5 times before transplanting the seedlings as the crop remains for a number of months in the field so it needs to be properly prepared. Then the seedlings are transplanted in the beds made of suitable size after the preparation and levelingof the field.

Why Raised beds are used for Brinjal Cultivation

Raised beds are built on a ground which is free of any type of weeds and is adequate for drainage. It is made 12 inches tall so as to give best results. It is filled with high quality soil which is slightly acidic, light, well draining, with humus and organic matter, and rich in nutrients.

Raised beds warms up the soil faster and so it is better to grow brinjals in it as they love heat and grow better and faster in hot temperatures.

Time of Sowing

Brinjal seeds are sown in the months of December-January and May-June. You can make seedling by the use of vermi compost, Cocopit & Tray.

Seed Rate

Brinjal seeds require around 400g/Ha for varieties and 200g/Ha for hybrids.

Layout and Spacing

Brinjals are grown in Ridges and Furrow type of layout and seedlings are grown in raised beds with a spacing of 75×60 cm to 75×75 cm.

Manure and Fertilizers

Brinjal requires a good amount of manure and fertilizers as it is a long duration crop and it needs proper balance of these for successful crop production. During preparation of the field, well rotted farmyard manure or compost (200-250 q/ha) should be added with 100-120 kg of Nitrogen and 50-60 kg each of Phosphorus and Potash.

Varieties/Hybrids of Brinjal

 Some of the main brinjal hybrids cultivated in India are:

• Pusa purple long – It is an early maturing fruit, which is glossy, light purple in colour with 25-30 cm long, smooth and tender, maturing in 100 to 110 days.
• Pusa purple cluster – It is an early maturing long fruit, small, dark purple in colour and borne in clusters, maturing in 75 days after transplanting.
• Pusakranti – It is a dwarf and oblong fruit with attractive dark purple colour maturing in 130 to 150 days with an average yield of 14 to 16 ton per hectare.
• Pusabarsati – It is a dwarf, erect growing, medium or long sized fruit, purple in colour with an average yield of 35.5 ton per hectare.
• Manjrigota – It is a dwarf fruit which is medium to large sized, round in shape and purple coloured with white stripes. It becomes golden yellow colour upon maturity with an average yield of 15 to 20 ton per hectare.
• Vaishali – desert dwarf fruit which is oval in shape and purple in colour with white stripes that has spines and its maturity timing is 60 days after transplanting with an average yield of 30 tons per hectare.
• Arkanavneet – This hybrid of brinjal has high yielding with fruits being large oval to oblong in shape with a deep purple shining skin being 450 grams in weight. Its maturity time is 150-160 days with an average yield of 65 to 70 tons per hectare.
• Arkasheel – It is a medium to long sized, deep shining purple coloured brinjal with fleshy and green calyx with a maturity timing of 150 to 160 days having an average yield of 38 tons per hectare.
• Arkakusmukar – This hybrid has green stem and green leaves with soft texture and good quality cooking maturing in 140 to 150 days with an average yield of 40 tons per hectare.
• Arkanidhi (BWR-12) – It is a high yielding brinjal variety having resistance to bacterial wilt maturing in 150 days with an average yield of 48 tons per hectare.
• Arkakeshav (BWR-21) – It is a high yielding brinjal variety having resistance to bacterial wilt with a tender, free from bitterness fruit, maturing in 150 days with an average yield of 45 tons per hectare.
• Arkaneelkanth (BWR-54) – It is a high yielding brinjal variety having resistance to bacterial wilt with a tender, free from bitterness fruit, maturing in 150 days with an average yield of 43 tons per hectare.
• Pusaankur – This hybrid of brinjal are oval-round shaped, small in size with 60 to 80 grams in weight, dark purple coloured and an attractive fruit. It is an early bearing fruit maturing in 45 days after transplanting and does not lose colour and tenderness even if the picking is delayed.

Transplanting in Brinjal Cultivation

 Generally, the seedlings are ready in 4 to 5 weeks for transplanting with a height of 12-15 cm with 3-4 leaves. The seedlings are first hardened by irrigation and they are properly uprooted to the soil without injuring the roots. Transplanting is mostly done during evening hours after irrigation. After transplantation the soil is firmly pressed around the seedlings. The spacing depends upon the soil fertility, its variety and suitability. In general, the spacing is kept at 60×60 cm for non-spreading type hybrids and 75-90 × 62-75 cm for spreading type hybrids.

Irrigation Scheduling

 The field is irrigated as per the need of the crop. For effective growth of crops, flowering, setting and developing of fruits, timely irrigation is important. For higher yielding of crops the temperature should be maintained at optimum with proper soil fertility conditions. In plains, irrigation should be applied every 3rd to 4th day during hot weather and every 7 to 12 days during winter. If there is no rain, irrigation should bedkne before the final top dressing of the crops and the field should be regularly irrigated to keep the soil moist during frosty days.

Weed Control and Intercultural operations

Weeds hinder the growth of crops so it should be controlled as soon as they are seen either by traditional methods of hand weeding and hoeing or by applying herbicides.

Shalu cultivation is suggested to be done frequently at regular intervals to keep the field free from weeds and to facilitate soil aeration and proper root development. The most serious type of weed in Brinjal is Orabanchaesp which is a root parasite and it should be controlled carefully. The spacing should be done wherever needed. Pre-planting soil incorporation of Fluchloralin  (1-1.5 kg per hectare) or Oxadiazon (0.5 kg per hectare) and pre-planting surface spraying of Alachlor (1-1.5 kg per hectare) control the weeds in brinjal successfully.

Fertigation in Brinjal

 Fertigation is the combination of Fertilizer and Irrigation. Fertilizers are injected into Irrigation system which is used for soil amendments, water amendments and other water soluble products, popularly used by commercial growers to target the plant’s nutrient deficiency directly. It is the most effective approach rather than traditional fertilization.

Fertigation Schedule for hybrids of Brinjal

Variety – Black oval

Soil – Sandy

Plant density – 12,500 plants/Ha

Expected yield – 30 to 51 tons per hectare

Growth period (planting to harvesting) –

Days after sowing	V 1	V 2	V 3	V 4	V 5	V 6	V 7
	Date	Urea	Amoniam sulfet	12.61.00	P. Acid	Potas	Mg.Sulfet	Ca. Nitret
		kg	kg	kg	kg	kg	kg	kg
21		7.5		6.25
28		10.75		6.25
35		19
42		15.25		5
49		15.25		5		9
56		15.25			2.25	9	2.5
63		22.75		3.75		12
70		22.75		3		15	8
77		15.25		4.5
84			20.25	4.5	3.5	15		7.5
91
98			33.25		5.75	24	12	10
105				7.25		24
112			33.25					10
119						24
126			25				7.5	7.5
133			16.75
140			25.25			8		7.5
147			16.75
154			16.75
Total		143.75	187.25	45.5	11.5	140	30	42.5

 

Insect Pests of  Brinjal and control measures

1. Brinjal fruit and shoot borer – It is one of the major insect pests of brinjal. It is a short pinkish caterpillar leaving visible signs of infestation making it unfit for consumption.

Control measures:

• The affected part should be clipped along with the insect and destroyed.
• The affected crops should be sprayed with phosphamidon (demicron-100 EC) @.0.5 ml or dichlorvos (Sumithion-50 Ec Foliation-50 ECc) @1 ml per liter of water at a interval of 15 days or spraying with carbaryl20% or Monocrotophos 0.05%.

1. Brinjal Stem borer – It is a pale white colored caterpillar which bore into the stem and kills the plant.

Control measures:

Same as brinjal fruit and shoot borer

1. Leaf eating beetle – The beetle feed on the leaves and other tender parts of the plant which leads to reduction in yield of the brinjal.

Control measures:

• Handpick the egg and larvae which is the best method for controlling this pest if infestation is only in a few plants.
• This insect can effectively be controlled by spraying crop with Endosulfan (Thioden -35 EC) or Phentrothion (Sumithion-50 EC) @ 2 ml or Fenthion (Lebacid-IOOO EC) or Thiomiton (Ekatin-25 EC) @ 1 ml per litre of water.

1. Nematode – It is the most common plant parasitic nematode and the root knot nematode does more harm to seedlings. The affected plant becomes stunt and leaves start showing chlorotic symptoms and its infestation greatly hampers the yield of the crop.

Control measures:

• Deep summer ploughing
• Crop rotation
• Grow resistant varieties like black beauty, banaras giant.
• Spray Carbofuran or Phorate @25kg/ha in the soil.

1. Aphids – The damage is done by the nymphs and adults who suckle the cell sap from leaves, stems and developing plants. They are large in numbers and cover the entire surface.

 

Control measures:

• Spray the crops with Malathion(0.1%) or Endosulfan(0.05%) or Monocrotophos(0.05%)

1. Jassids – The nymphs and adults are very agile and suck the cell sap from under the surface of the leaves. They inject toxic saliva into the plant tissues while feeding. It causes complete mortality of the plants.

Control measures:

• Spray Carbaryl (0.1%) or Endosulfan (0.05%) or Phosphamidon (0.04%) at an interval of 10 days.

Major Diseases of Brinjal and its Control measures

 Some of the fungal and bacterial diseases affecting the brinjal crop in India are:

Fungal diseases of brinjal:

1. Alternaria Blight – It causes characteristic spots on the leaf with concentric rings and the affected part of the leaves may drop off and may also affect fruits which turn into yellow colour and may drop off prematurely.

Control measures:

• Long term crop rotation
• Grow resistant variety of crops
• Provide with proper drainage
• Soak the soil with a mixture of Bavisin (0.1%)

1. Damping off – The symptoms of this disease can be seen during both pre emergence and post emergence period. The affected seedlings become pale green in colour and rot at the ground level followed by falling over the ground.

Control measures:

• Soak the seed bed 10-15 cm deep into the soil with Formalin (7%) before sowing.
• The seedlings should be sprayed with any type of fungicides at a regular time interval.
• Give hot water treatment for 30 minutes at 52°C to the seeds.
• Soak the seeds with Captan or Thiram @ 3g/kg seed.
• Don’t over water the plants.

Bacterial diseases of Brinjal:

1. Bacterial Wilt – This disease causes collapse of the entire plant with dropping and slight yellowing of leaves with vascular discoloration. The infected part/stem when dipped in water forms white milky stream of bacterial oozes which is one of the Diagnostic symptoms for bacterial wilt.

Control measures:

• Crop Rotation
• Cut out the infected plants and destroy them.
• Make the nursery beds disease free.
• Soak the seed bed deep under the soil with Formalin (7%) before sowing.
• Treat the seeds with Streptocycline for 90 minutes @150ppm.

Viral disease of Brinjal

1. Mosaic – This disease is caused by a virus transmitted through seeds and by Aphids and affects the leaf forming blisters and also reducing the size of leaves with raised dark green areas.

Control measures:

• The seeds collected should be free of viruses.
• Clean out the infected plants from the ground.
• Spray Dimethoate (0.05%) or Monocrotophos (0.05%) to the crops at an interval of 10 days.

Harvesting of Brinjal

 The Brinjal fruits are harvested before it starts to ripe when they attain their full size and colour. The optimum stage of harvesting is when it becomes tender and bright coloured with the glossy appearance. If the fruits start looking dull then it means it has attained its maturity and also its quality is lost.

Crop Economics for Brinjal:

Economics of Crop cultivation under Micro Irrigation (1 Ha)
A	Variable Cost	Operations	Qty	Rate	Unit	Amount
1	Primary tillage operations	Tractor / Rotavator	4	1000	Hrs	4000
2	Seed & seedling preparations	Seed Tray + Seed + Vermi Compost + cocopit	1	6500	Set	6500
3	Weeding		15	300	Mandays	4500
4	FYM / Compost	Composting	10	2500	Trolly	25000
5	Liquid Fertilizer	Fertigation	1	15000	Set	15000
6	Conventional Fertilizer	DAP + Urea + Potash	1	6500	Set	6500
7	Insecticides, Pesticides & Spraying		1	7000	Set	7000
8	Irrigation & Electricity		1	4500	Set	4500
9	Lease Rent		1	5000	Ha	5000
10	Staking	Bamboo	1	4500		4500
11	Harvesting	Plucking	30	300	Mandays	9000
12	Miscellaneous		1	3000	Set	3000
	Total Variable cost					94500
B	Fixed Cost
	Investment on MIS					112500.00
a	Interest on MIS value @ 18%					20250.00
b	Depreciation @ 10%					11250.00
c	Maintenance @ 5%					5625.00
	Total Fixed Cost					37125.00
	Total Cost (A+B)					131625.00
	Description			Yield	Rate	Amount
	Brinjal			25000	10	250000.00
	Total Expenditure					131625.00
	Net Income					118375.00
	Note: This is a tentative rate considered.

Post Harvest

The Brinjal fruits can be stored for 7 to 8 days in a fairly good condition at a temperature of 7 degree Celsius to 10 degree Celsius with 80 to 90% RH. Best quality fruits vary with different varieties/hybrids and it is advised to store them in perforated polythene bags than under open conditions.

Yield

Depending upon the variety, location and season, the yield of brinjal varies. However, In general, about 250 to 500 quintals per hectare of healthy vegetables of brinjal is obtained.

Conclusion

Brinjal crop is mostly cost effective all over the world and is considered to be a perennial crop but is grown annually around our nation. The plants cannot survive in freezing temperatures so the production completes before the winter months in most areas.