Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
'Green Apple' eggplant is green when eating ripe, yellow when seeds ripen.
HARVEST
Seeds are not ripe until the fruit has completely changed color. White-fruited varieties turn
golden yellow, purple varieties turn dark brown, green varieties turn yellowish green. The seeds them-
selves are light brown. If the growing season is too short to ripen seeds, plants can be brought to a
heated indoor space to finish ripening, or whole plants can be uprooted and hung upside down indoors.
Separating ripe seeds from the flesh of the fruit can be tedious and time-consuming. Seeds are easiest
to remove from fruits that have become soft and mushy. Fruits can be cut into thin strips the long way
and seeds can be pressed out with a rolling pin or scraped out with a spoon. Clean seeds in a sieve with
water. Dry in coffee or tea filters; no more than a teaspoon of seed per filter. Some seed propagators
have had success with fermenting seeds (see “Wet Processing with Fermentation”).
SELECTION CHARACTERISTICS
Eggplant varieties are extremely diverse, from small and round to
large and elongated or pear-shaped. Fruits can be white, yellow, green, red, purple, light or dark violet,
or black. Some varieties are even striped or marbled. Potential selection criteria:
• true-to-type fruit shape
• uniform color and pattern for all fruits
• plentiful fruit set
• fruit retains eating ripeness for a long time
• tender skin of fruit
• absence of bitter compounds
• earliness
• cold tolerance
• lack of thorns on sepals and/or stems
DISEASES AND PESTS
There are no known seed-borne diseases. Spider mites are a problem in organic
eggplant cultivation, the eggplant apparently being the spider mite's favorite food. Young plants be-
come infested indoors and then follow the plants when they are planted out. The best preventative
measures: anything that encourages rapid, vigorous growth of seedlings and introducing beneficial in-
