Growing brinjal
Solanum melongena · also called Baingan, Wangun (Kashmiri)A warm season fruit vegetable raised in a nursery and transplanted. It needs a long, sunny, frost-free season and bears over several months.
Arid west: Rajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat
At a glance
Brinjal in the Arid west
Rainy, winter and summer crops; summer heat above about 35 °C cuts fruit set5
About 6 to 8 months from nursery sowing to the last picking.
No published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.June to July5
Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.120 to 130 days after sowing5
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Sow now
The window here is October to November.
- Nursery
- Transplant
- Harvest
- Under cover
- Today
Compare all 12 regionsShow fewer regions
See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arid west | June to JulyOctober to NovemberFebruary to March | July to AugustNovember to DecemberMarch to April | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | March to MayApril | April to JuneEnd of May | July to September | |
| Cold desertUnder cover only | Under cover: Late March to April, under cover | Under cover: May, in the greenhouse | Under cover: July to September | |
| Sub-tropical foothills | JanuaryFebruary to MarchMayMarch to AprilUnder cover: December, under low poly tunnels | FebruaryMarch to AprilJuneApril to MayUnder cover: January, into trenches | ||
| North-west plains | OctoberNovember, protected from frostFebruary to MarchJuly | NovemberFirst half of FebruaryBy the end of AprilAugust | ||
| Gangetic plains | October to NovemberMay to June | November to DecemberJune to July | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | Early September to OctoberJanuary to February | October to NovemberFebruary to March | ||
| Central plateau | June to JulyOctober to NovemberFebruary to March | July to AugustNovember to DecemberMarch to April | ||
| Deccan plateau | June to JulyOctober to NovemberFebruary to March | July to AugustNovember to DecemberMarch to April | ||
| South interior | December to JanuaryMay to June | January to FebruaryJune to July | ||
| West coast | May to June, before the monsoonSeptember to October | |||
| East coast | December to JanuaryMay to June | January to FebruaryJune to July |
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Before sowing
Land preparation
Well decomposed farmyard manure
15 to 20 tonnes per hectare
Mix into the soil while preparing the land.
Day 0
Sow
Day 180 to 240
Last picking
No published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Before sowing
Well decomposed farmyard manure5
15 to 20 tonnes per hectare · Mix into the soil while preparing the land. · Land preparation
Day 0
Sow
Day 6 to 10
Seeds come up5,7Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 25 to 30
Day 120 to 130
First picking5
Every 8 to 10 days
Day 180 to 240
Last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Keep the root zone moist all the time. Give a light watering on the first and third day after transplanting, then every 5 to 6 days in summer and every 8 to 10 days in winter.5
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH3,1,2
5.5 to 6.8
Grows on most soils, from light sandy to heavy clay, if they are deep, fertile and well drained. Silt loam and clay loam suit it most; sandy loam gives an earlier crop.
Sunlight1
Full sun. It needs a long, warm growing season with plenty of sunshine.
Temperature1,2,3
Grows best at 21 to 27 °C
Frost: none tolerated.
Monthly temperatures for the Arid west aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering5
Keep the root zone moist all the time. Give a light watering on the first and third day after transplanting, then every 5 to 6 days in summer and every 8 to 10 days in winter.
Weeding5
Keep the field weed free early on. Hoe shallowly two or three times and earth up the plants; deep hoeing damages the roots.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land preparation | Well decomposed farmyard manure | 15 to 20 tonnes per hectare | Mix into the soil while preparing the land. |
Varieties and yield
20 to 30 tonnes a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Kashi Sandesh
Hybrid, medium round; IIVR lists Gujarat and Rajasthan among its states
Pests and diseases4
Organic and cultural controls only.
Shoot and fruit borer (Leucinodes orbonalis)
Signs
Caterpillars bore into tender shoots, which droop and dry, and then into the fruits, which show holes.
What to do
- Remove and destroy infested shoots and fruits at regular intervals until the last harvest.
- Put up pheromone traps from about 20 days after transplanting: 4 to 5 an acre to watch moth numbers, 10 an acre about 10 m apart for mass trapping. Change the lures regularly.
- Release the egg parasitoid Trichogramma chilonis every week from about 21 days after transplanting.
- Spray neem seed kernel extract 5%.
Prevention
- Grow two rows of brinjal to one row of coriander or fennel.
- Avoid growing brinjal and potato again and again on the same land.
- Grow tolerant varieties where they suit the region.
Hadda beetle (Epilachna vigintioctopunctata)
Signs
Grubs and adults scrape the leaf surface, leaving skeletonised leaves.
What to do
- Pick off grubs, pupae and adults by hand from skeletonised leaves and destroy them.
- Spray neem seed kernel extract 5%.
Prevention
- Conserve its parasitoid wasps and predatory bugs.
Jassid or leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula biguttula)
Signs
Sucks sap from the underside of leaves; leaves turn pale and curl. It also spreads little leaf.
What to do
- Remove affected parts.
- Spray neem seed kernel extract 5%.
- Conserve ladybird beetles and lacewings.
Prevention
- Grow okra as a trap crop.
Spider mites (Tetranychus species)
Signs
Pale specks on the leaves, fine webbing, then leaf drop in hot dry weather.
What to do
- Uproot and destroy infested plants while the mites are still on a few plants.
- Spray neem seed kernel extract 5%.
- Conserve predatory mites and lacewings.
Prevention
- Avoid water and nutrient stress; mulch and add organic matter to hold moisture.
- Keep the field free of weeds.
Stem borer
Signs
Caterpillars tunnel down the stem; plants droop and die.
What to do
- Uproot and destroy infested plants.
- Run a light trap at dusk, one an acre.
Prevention
- Do not keep a ratoon crop.
Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne species)
Signs
Knot-like galls on the roots; plants stay small and yellow.
What to do
- Apply 2 tonnes of FYM enriched with 100 to 200 kg of neem or pongamia cake per acre in the main field.
Prevention
- Plough deep in summer.
- Solarise nursery beds under clear polythene for about three weeks before sowing.
Damping off
Signs
Seedlings rot at the base and fall over in the nursery.
What to do
- Treat seed with Trichoderma viride, 5 g per kg of seed, before sowing.
- Drench the nursery with Trichoderma viride.
Prevention
- Raise seedlings on beds more than 15 cm high or in pro-trays with a clean potting mix.
- Do not overwater; keep the nursery well drained.
Phomopsis blight
Signs
Brown spots on leaves and fruits; the fruit rots.
What to do
- Remove and destroy diseased plant debris.
Prevention
- Take seed only from healthy fruits and give it hot water at 50 °C for 30 minutes.
- Rotate with crops outside the tomato family and avoid brinjal after brinjal.
- Plough deep in summer.
- Grow resistant varieties.
Bacterial wilt
Signs
Plants wilt suddenly while still green.
What to do
- Mix Trichoderma viride with FYM and spread it over the field before planting.
- Use neem cake.
Prevention
- Grow resistant varieties.
- Rotate with maize, soybean, wheat, rice, sesame or a green manure.
- Grow a mustard-family green manure and dig it in.
- Solarise nursery soil under clear polythene for 8 to 10 weeks in March to June.
Little leaf (phytoplasma, spread by leafhoppers)
Signs
Leaves are tiny and crowded; plants turn bushy and bear no fruit.
What to do
- Pull out and destroy affected plants early.
- Keep leafhoppers down with the measures above.
Prevention
- Remove weeds of the tomato family.
- Grow tolerant varieties.
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1,2,3
Grow seed plants at least 200 m from other brinjal varieties. Check the crop three times (at growth, at flowering and fruiting, and before harvest) and pull out off-types and diseased plants.
When the seed is ready
Seed fruits are ready when at least a third of the fruit has turned yellow.
Cleaning the seed
Cut or crush ripe fruits and leave them overnight. Work the seed out by hand in a tub of water: the flesh floats and the seed sinks. Wash several times and do it in the morning so the seed dries the same day.
Dry the seed straight after washing, in part shade, before packing and labelling it.
After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Pull out the plants after the last picking and destroy any with wilt or little leaf. Follow with a cereal or a legume, not another tomato family crop.
Remove and destroy infested plants and crop residues straight after the last harvest, so borers and disease do not carry over to the next crop.
Rotation
Do not grow brinjal on the same land year after year. Rotate with crops outside the tomato family, such as maize, soybean, wheat, rice, sesame or a green manure, which also lowers bacterial wilt. Avoid following brinjal with potato.
Sources
Where this comes from
Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.
These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.
- Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (Brinjal)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (College of Agriculture course notes)Read the source
- AESA based IPM package: BrinjalNational Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM) and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of IndiaRead the source
- Brinjal: package of practices (source NHB)Vikaspedia (Government of India), citing the National Horticulture BoardRead the source
- Brinjal (eggplant): varieties developed by IIVR and cultivation detailsICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, VaranasiRead the source
- Horticulture: Vegetables: Brinjal (season, seed, cultural practices, manuring, irrigation, yield, varieties), TNAU Agritech PortalTamil Nadu Agricultural University, CoimbatoreRead the source
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