If you plant eggplants in your own garden, greenhouse or in a pot on the balcony, you should follow a few care instructions. Learn how eggplants are pollinated and how you can significantly increase your yield through manual pollination.
How is the eggplant pollinated and how can you help?
Aubergines are one of theWind pollinatorsThere is no wind movement in the polytunnel or greenhouse. As a result, the flowers are insufficiently pollinated and fewer or no fruits are formed. To significantly increase yield, pollinate the flowersmanually by gently shaking
How are eggplants pollinated?
Eggplants arewind pollinators, they need movement to pollinate themselves. It carries both male and female genitals in one flower. Pollination occurs through the movement of wind and insects. The plant doesn't care whether these are of natural origin or whether humans have helped. If you manually help the natural pollination of your plants, you should repeat this twice a week. This allows the pollen to spread throughout the open flowers.
How can I support eggplant pollination?
If your eggplant plants are in the greenhouse, you should ensure good ventilation, not just to transport moisture outside. The plants should also be moved sufficiently during the flowering period to achieve good pollination. ShakingThe best time to support the plants is between 9 and 11 a.m. when theflowers are open. However, be careful not to damage the plants. A slight shake is enough. This mechanical intervention allows you to significantly increase your yield.
What happens if eggplant flowers are not pollinated?
If eggplants are not pollinated, the flower can produceno fruit and massive harvest failures occur. Even if the flowers are insufficiently pollinated, only deformed or very small fruits can form.
Tip
An electric toothbrush can help
Use an old electric toothbrush (€99.00 on Amazon) to pollinate the plants manually. Place it carefully on the flower for about 20 seconds. The vibration simulates natural pollination. This results in an almost 100 percent yield. However, when using this method, always be careful and do not injure the plant. This trick also works on tomato plants.
