Aubergine (Ireland, UK), eggplant (Canada, US, Australia), or brinjal (Singapore, Indian subcontinent, South Africa, Malaysia) is a plant species in the Solanaceae family. Globally, Solanum melongena is cultivated for its edible fruit.
Brinjal, another name for eggplant, is a significant solanaceous crop. It is one of India’s most widespread and well-liked vegetable crops, except for high altitudes. Brinjal is a flexible crop that may be grown all year long and is suitable for many agro-climatic areas. Although it is cultivated annually for commercial purposes, it is a perennial crop. In recent years, eggplant has become more common in gardens.
Table of Contents
- Classification of Brinjal
- Overview of Brinjal Flower
- Brinjal (Eggplant) Flower Drop
- Pollination of Brinjal Flowers
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Classification of Brinjal
|
Kingdom |
Plantae |
|
Class |
Magnoliopsida |
|
Subclass |
Asteridae |
|
Order |
Solanales |
|
Family |
Solanaceae |
|
Genus |
Solanum |
|
Species |
S. melongena |
|
Binomial name |
Solanum melongena L. |
Overview of Brinjal Flower
The Solanaceae family of flowering plants, including the eggplant, is distinguished by five-petaled flowers that are often conical or funnel-shaped and alternating or alternate-to-opposite leaves. Their stamens often occur in multiples of four, on average (four or eight). Some of the significant food and drug-producing plants are members of this family, including tomato, potato, chilli pepper, tobacco, and deadly nightshade. They are also referred to as the potato or nightshade family.
The brinjal flowers are purple to white, with yellow stamens and a five-lobed corolla. Heterostyly is its common characteristic. Based on the length of the style, four different flower varieties have been observed:
- Large ovary and long style,
- Medium-sized ovary and medium style,
- Underdeveloped ovary with pseudo style, and
- Very primitive ovary with a true short style.
Long and medium-styled blossoms are used as fruit-setting flowers. Typically, fruit setting in long-styled flowers ranges from 70 to 85%, while in medium-styled flowers, it ranges from 12 to 55%. The short-stemmed, fertile androecium of the non-fruit-setting flowers is accompanied by smaller stigma and underdeveloped papillae in the non-fruit-setting flowers.
Flowers usually evolve 40-45 days after transplantation. Typically, anthers break off 15 to 20 minutes after the flowers have bloomed. During anthesis or flower opening, stigma receptivity reaches its peak.
Brinjal (Eggplant) Flower Drop
Purple star-shaped flowers start to appear when the eggplant is fully grown. The male and female reproductive organs are present in each flower, allowing for self-pollination. The fruit develops from the female part.
Water must be provided for fruits to expand and grow. They require regular, deep irrigation that can penetrate about 18 inches into the soil. Watering deeply and frequently, especially during extended dry times, is necessary to prevent flower and fruit drops. Flowers drop if water gets to the top few inches of the plant.
The leaves can turn yellow if the soil is poor in nitrogen. The flower buds may fall off or never form if the weather and sunshine are not ideal. With the addition of phosphorus, organic fertiliser helps plants develop strong roots and fruit-producing flowers.
Eggplant can shed flowers or lose immature fruit when temperatures increase beyond 35°F. It also stops setting fruit at that point. Temperatures below 15°C cause a reduction in fruit set.
Pollination of Brinjal Flowers
Bumblebees and various insects pollinate the flowers, even though brinjal flowers are self-pollinating. Self-pollination is generally initiated by vibrations induced by wind, rain, or hand-shaking the plant. Bumblebee pollinated flowers yield 23% more fruit than self-pollinated plants. No matter how pollination occurs, there is no change in the fruit’s quality.
Each brinjal flower’s male and female reproductive organs are present, which self-pollinate to create the fruit. We can assist in pollinating the flowers by tapping the plants to disseminate the pollen if fruits aren’t developing. A paintbrush can be used to facilitate pollination.
Related Link:
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