Vegetables · Fruiting

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.

Where are you growing?

Deccan plateau: interior Maharashtra, Telangana, north Karnataka

Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail

A round green brinjal fruit hanging under the leaves of a brinjal plant — Photo: Dr. Anil Kumar Swain - Sr. Scientist & Head. Krishi Vigyan Kendra, OUAT, Nayagarh · CC0

At a glance

Brinjal in the Deccan plateau

Season
Rainy, winter and summer crops; grown most of the year⁵
Sowing to last picking
About 6 to 8 months from nursery sowing to the last picking.
Nursery
June to July⁵
First harvest
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.

Sowing now in:North-west plains Gangetic plains Arid west Central plateau

Nursery
Transplant
Harvest
Under cover
Today

Deccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north Karnataka South interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil Nadu East coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra

Compare all 12 regions

Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, Kullu Cold desertLadakh, Lahaul and Spiti · Under cover only Sub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, Dehradun North-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, Delhi Gangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plains North-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, Sikkim Arid westRajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat Central plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha South interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil Nadu West coastKerala, Goa, Konkan East coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra

Today

See the dates as a table

Region	Nursery	Transplant	Harvest
Deccan plateau	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
Arid west	June to JulyOctober to NovemberFebruary to March	July to AugustNovember to DecemberMarch to April
Central 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.

⁵

Day 0

Sow

Day 6 to 10

Seeds come up

^5,7

Day 25 to 30

Transplant

^7,5,4,9

Day 120 to 130

First picking

Every 8 to 10 days

⁵

Day 180 to 240

Last picking

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

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 up^5,7
Day 25 to 30
Transplant^7,5,4,9
Day 120 to 130
First picking⁵
Every 8 to 10 days
Day 180 to 240
Last picking

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 pH^3,1,2
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.
Temperature^1,2,3
Grows best at 21 to 27 °C
Frost: none tolerated.
Monthly temperatures for the Deccan plateau 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.

Sources⁵

Varieties and yield

Typical range⁵

20 to 30 tonnes a hectare

Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.

Varieties grown here^5,7

Bhagyamati
Listed for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Pusa Purple Long
Listed for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Green Spiny
Listed for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Polur
Local type preferred in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Kashi Modak
Small round; for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Kashi Utsav
Hybrid; for Maharashtra
Kashi Manohar
Hybrid; for Maharashtra

Good neighbours^4,1,8

Grows well with

Pests and diseases⁴

Organic and cultural controls only.

Pest
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.
Pest
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.
Pest
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.
Pest
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.
Pest
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.
Pest
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.
Disease
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.
Disease
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.
Disease
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.
Disease
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 seed^1,2,3

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 picking

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

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.

3Production 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
4AESA based IPM package: BrinjalNational Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM) and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of IndiaRead the source
5Brinjal: package of practices (source NHB)Vikaspedia (Government of India), citing the National Horticulture BoardRead the source
7Brinjal (eggplant): varieties developed by IIVR and cultivation detailsICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, VaranasiRead the source
9Horticulture: Vegetables: Brinjal (season, seed, cultural practices, manuring, irrigation, yield, varieties), TNAU Agritech PortalTamil Nadu Agricultural University, CoimbatoreRead the source

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Growing brinjal

Brinjal in the Deccan plateau

When to sow it

One season, day by day

Soil, sun and warmth

Soil pH3,1,2

Sunlight1

Temperature1,2,3

Water and feeding

Watering5

Weeding5

Varieties and yield

Good neighbours4,1,8

Pests and diseases4

Shoot and fruit borer (Leucinodes orbonalis)

Hadda beetle (Epilachna vigintioctopunctata)

Jassid or leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula biguttula)

Spider mites (Tetranychus species)

Stem borer

Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne species)

Damping off

Phomopsis blight

Bacterial wilt

Little leaf (phytoplasma, spread by leafhoppers)

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,2,3

After the last pickingAI suggestionNo published guide covers this for the Deccan plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.