Greetings Fellow Gardeners around!
This year has been really though year for growing crops, especially eggplants. The prolong drying season has been a menace, most of the eggplants farms have been affected by wilting and invasion of pests and diseases like phomopsis bright which normally attack their fruits and spoil them. As eggplants farmers we should be varying our varieties of eggplants according to seasons. But most farmers have specific varieties they prefer growing due to market choice. It is obviously true since you can't opt for varieties that your buyers or your consumers don't like it. That would kinda be like you aren't growing for sales.
As we farmers we are always on the lookout in case there is any uncertainties or external force like disease and pest infestation. We should wait for them to attack the crops before taking action finding remedy to combat them. So, I prepare to spray the farm with recommended chemicals and I first saw symptoms of disease, but this could be nothing for this variety of eggplant however I needed to protect the plants. Other cultural practices were done to support good fruiting and healthy growth of the plant. Pruning of the base leaves and branches were very necessary to help good fruiting too. The rainfall pattern was erratic but this isn't a big issue for this variety. I understand since I planted the seedlings very late. I wanted mine to meet the time when most of eggplant fruits are very scarce in the market so that I can enjoy.
The variety I chose to grow is the kind of variety that most eggplant farmer don't often grow. So most of us grow in smaller quantities or subsistence farming for family use. The reason being that the variety doesn't have good market prices. Most consumers don't eat them due to the hardness of the epicarp it makes grinding in dish very difficult. The epicarp isn't soft like the normal ones. Aside this, the taste is a little bitter common to the normal sizable ones.
In spite of all these challenges, the plant has some qualities of withstanding adverse weather conditions either drought or excessive rainfall. Disease and pest infestation too is minimal on this variety compared to other eggplants. The variety can yield in different types of soils. We normally grow them at our backyard gardens. Due to good canopy formation, it's advisable for intra cropping being spacious to allow good aeration and other branches stretching to occupy space. Excess and unwanted base leaves and branches could either be removed to allow good growth.
This morning I went to the farm to check how the eggplant fruits are faring only to see that most of the fruits have ripen. I harvested few one for eating just few days. The farm is just close to my house so I can any go there to harvest the rest.
This year is going to be multiple growing of different types of crops. I am planning to adopt crop rotation program on my field of land. But, I would be declaring the kind of crops to grow there in my later updates of farming. I would be visiting the site soon beging the clearing. So, there is more to share with you.Thanks for your attention!