African Eggplant Seeds: Collect ripe fruit and squeeze the seed out in water. Wash the seed thoroughly and dry in the shade. Keep properly dried seeds in a closed container to avoid damage by insects. Land preparation: Soil should be well prepared and mixed with cattle, chicken or compost manure at a rate of one bucket per one metre squared. Establish nurseries in flat areas with fertile soils and near to the water sources but not in shaded areas. No tomato, nightshades, Irish potato or sweet peppers should have been planted there the previous year. Sowing and transplanting: Sow seeds in rows 15-20 centimetres apart and 1 centimetre between seeds within the row. After sowing, cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil followed by watering. Thin seedlings to 1-2 centimetre spacing. Water regularly to avoid drying. Harden off seedlings by slightly reducing the frequency of watering. Transplant after four to six weeks or when they have 4-7 true leaves. Management: The recommended plant spacing for African eggplant is 50 centimetres by 75 centimetres. Weed whenever necessary. Watering during the dry seasons is very important. Adding fertilizer after three harvests improves yields. African Eggplant can
be intercropped with other vegetables but avoid tomato, nightshades, Irish potato or sweet peppers. Harvesting: Leaves from leafy types can be harvested when the first flowers are about to open. Fruit types should be harvested before the skins get tough and change colour from whitish to pale-yellow. Harvesting should be regular even when there is no ready market to encourage subsequent fruit development. Pest and diseases: Pests are flower, stem and fruit borer, leaf miners, nematodes, thrips, aphids and spider mites. Diseases are bacterial wilt, damping off, angular and grey leaf spot, collar rot and fruit rots.
The fruit and leaves of African Eggplant can be used depending on the variety. Generally, hairy leaves are not used. African Eggplant Fruit (Recipe from AVRDC-RCA Tanzania) Ingredients 10 African eggplant fruits 2 onions 2 tomatoes ½ cup of cooking oil 2 cups of water Salt to taste Procedures - Wash, peel and slice the tomatoes. - Wash and slice the onions. - Wash and remove pedicles of the African eggplant and slice the fruit - Fry onions and tomatoes in oil - Add fruit and stir well until soft, add one cup of water while stirring and simmer for 15 minutes. - Season to taste, serve while hot Variations - Add coconut milk or cream milk - Add milk - Add meat - Add carrots, sweet pepper
African Eggplant Leaves (Recipe from Phyllis Kasambula, Uganda) Ingredients 2 bunches of African eggplant leaves 1 medium onion (chopped) 1 tablespoon of oil / butter / margarine 1 medium tomato (chopped) Water (to cover leaves) Salt to taste Seasoning (optional) Procedures - Remove the leaves from the stalks and clean them - Boil the water and add salt to taste - Blanch the vegetables and remove them from the water as soon as it begins to boil - Rinse in cold water - Cut the African eggplant leaves, heat the butter and fry the onions lightly, do not let them turn brown - Add the vegetables and stir to prevent from burning. - Cook for 3 minutes. - Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 1 minute - Add seasoning of your choice - Serve with stew and starch accompaniment
This leaflet may be freely re-printed, translated or modified for non-commercial purposes to suit individual country contexts, however, please acknowledge that the original material was produced under the EU-sponsored IndigenoVeg project. Crop information was compiled from research done by AVRDC-RCA (Tanzania), ARC (South Africa) and NARO (Uganda).
