How to Cultivate Eggplant Plants in Pots/Polybags
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Eggplant is included in the class of vegetables. Usually eggplant is often cooked by housewives to serve food every day. Eggplant is easy to cultivate, either in the yard or in pots or polybags. The price is relatively cheap and easy to get in the market.
Also read: Planting Kedondong in Polybags Correctly
How to Cultivate Eggplant Plants in Pots
Eggplant (Eggplant, Solanum melongena) is a type of plant that lives in the tropics. Plants originating from India and Sri Lanka, are still in the same family as tomatoes and potatoes. The nutritional content of eggplant is quite high, including protein, calcium, iron, phosphorus, fat, Vitamin A, Vitamin B, and Vitamin C. Eggplant is very good for consumption, because it has high potassium levels around 217 mg/100 gr. . Potassium itself is very important for the nervous system and muscle contraction. As for the fiber content in eggplant, about 2.5 grams per 100 grams, therefore, eggplant is very good for digestion.
Eggplant has various types. Among the types of eggplant grown in Indonesia, some of them are: Eggplant Wren which is often used for fresh vegetables, Medan Eggplant which has mini elliptical fruit, Eggplant Craigi with oval fruit with a pointed tip, Japanese eggplant with round fruit shape and long cylindrical, Kopek eggplant with long fruit, Bogor eggplant with large round, whitish fruit, and various other types of eggplant.
Growing Conditions
Eggplant can live well in the lowlands and highlands with an altitude of 1-1,200 dpl and an air temperature of 22 - 30o C. The best type of soil for eggplant plants is sandy loam with a pH between 6.8 - 7.3, quite fertile , rich in various organic matter, and has good aeration and drainage. Eggplant is very suitable if planted in the dry season because this plant requires sufficient sunlight.
Cultivation Technique
1. Nursery
To obtain optimal results, eggplant seeds should come from hybrid seeds. The seeds are ripened using wet paper or a damp towel for +/- 24 hours. At the same time, we prepare the seedling media by mixing soil and manure with a ratio of 2: 1. The mixed planting media is then put into polybags measuring: 8 cm high and 5 cm in diameter.
2. Seeding
As explained above, seeding is done by soaking the seeds in warm water for 10 -15 minutes. The seeds are then wrapped in wet paper or wet towels or rolls of wet cloth to be ripened for + 24 hours, before being spread over the nursery, and covered with banana leaves/ other coverings. As soon as the seeds start to germinate, open the lid, and water the nursery every morning and evening. If needed, at the time of the nursery can also be sprayed with pesticides. Seeds are ready to be transplanted when they have four leaves and are about 1 to 1.5 months old.
3. Land Preparation
In the land preparation phase there are several steps that must be carried out, such as:
- Turn the soil to be used for planting media using a hoe or plow so that the top layer of soil moves down and the bottom layer of soil moves up.
- After the soil layer is turned over, the planting area is then irrigated by inundating the land evenly for 3-5 hours. To make making beds easier, do the plowing a second time.
- After plowing, apply basic fertilizer on the planting area, as much as 15/kg of manure, and 10-15 kg of dolomite for every 10 m2 of planted land. Urea fertilizer can also be added at a dose of 2.5 kg, SP-36 3 kg, and KCl 1.5 kg for every 10 plants. NPK fertilizer can also be given at a dose of 3 kg/10 plants.
- After mixing the soil with fertilizer, then the beds are made in the form of single row (one row one plant) with a spacing of 75 cm
4. Planting
Make planting holes in the beds as deep as 10-15 cm to plant seeds that have been sown for 25 days. The characteristics of seedlings that are ready for planting are the appearance of 3-4 perfect leaves with a stem height of up to 7.5 cm. Plant in the afternoon after flooding. The purpose of inundation is to facilitate transfer and assist plants in getting through the initial growth adaptation period.
The seeds that have been inserted into the hole are then pressed slowly down while being filled with soil around the hole as far as the base of the stem. Water the planting hole until it is quite wet (moist). So that the newly planted seeds are free from pest attacks, give insecticides.
5. Installation of Ajir
Turus is made of bamboo/wood with a height of 80-100 cm and a width of 2-4 cm. The turus is plugged near the stem, and the stem of the plant is tied to the turus so that it has strength when having to bear the heavy burden that comes from the eggplant fruit that will later be produced. Installation of turus is done as early as possible so as not to interfere with the root system of eggplant plants.
6. Maintenance
In the maintenance phase there are several phases and things that need to be considered, such as:
a. Watering
In the early stages of growth and in dry weather, watering should be done every day, either by watering the stems or by adding water to the planting area for several hours. If you add water to the planting area or soak it, the soil will usually stay wet for 3 - 4 days, except for soils that contain a lot of sand.
b. Embroidery
Embroidery is carried out on plants that die, are attacked by pests and diseases, or their growth becomes abnormal as usual. To do embroidery can be done before the plant is 15 days old.
c. Weeding
To remove weeds or weeds that grow around the plant, weeding can be done by pulling it out. Weeding is done at least twice, namely when the plants are 15 days old and 60-75 days after planting.
d. Fertilization
Provision of supplementary fertilizers is carried out when the plants are 21 days after planting using ZA 2.5 - 3 grams, SP-36 2.5 - 3 grams, KCl 1-1.5 grams for each plant. Fertilizer is placed on the edge of the plant with a distance of 10 cm from the base of the stem. The second supplementary fertilizer application was carried out 50 days after planting using NPK Grand S-15 at a dose of 8-10 grams of planting. After the second harvest, fertilization was carried out again while still using NPK Grand S-15 at a dose of 10 grams for planting.
7. Harvest Period
When the plant is 30 days after planting or 15-18 days after the appearance of flowers, eggplant plants can be harvested for the first time. The characteristics of eggplant that are ready to harvest are:
- Has a shiny fruit color,
- Flesh is not too hard,
- Medium size (not too big and not too small)
Eggplant can be harvested twice a week, so that in one season a total of 8 harvests can be done. Each plant usually has the potential to produce about 21 fruits. After the eighth harvest, sometimes there are still plants that produce fruit, but their productivity begins to decline both in terms of quality and quantity.
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