TOPIC NAME: PRODUCTION

TECHNOLOGY OF BRINJAL
variant names
Common name: Brinjal, eggplant.18
Scientific name: Solanum melongena.19
Malay name: Terong manis (sweet brinjal), terong china (Chinese
brinjal), terong ungu (purple brinjal), terong rapoh, terong puteh (white
brinjal), terong biru (blue brinjal), terong hijau (green brinjal).20
Tamil name: Katirikai.21
Other names: Guinea squash, apple-of-love, garden egg, gully bean,
melanzana, melongene, pea apple, pea aubergine, poor-man's-
caviar, susumber, terong.22
 ORIGIN &DISTRIBUTION

Wild brinjal can be found growing in Malaysia and

India. Solanum insanum, a prickly variety of the plant, is
mostly found in the dry hills of West Bengal, India.
Similarly, some yellow-fruit varieties of the plant can be
found growing wild in Malaya.3 Brinjal was first
domesticated in India. The Persians then introduced it to
Africa from India while the Arabs introduced it to Spain. It
presumably spread from Spain to the rest of
Europe. Today, many varieties of brinjal can be found
growing throughout the warmer parts of the world
BOTANICAL DESCRIPRION:
Brinjal is a rather small plant that grows up to 1.5 m.7 Brinjal is
classified as a herb because of its non-woody stem.8 Its simple leaves
are oblong to oval, slightly lobed, with its underside a paler green
than the upper surface. Both leaves and stem are covered with fine
hairs. Its flowers sprout singly or in small clusters from the leaf axils.
Individual flowers are star-shaped, light purple in colour and have
short stalks. There are five stamens attached to the corolla tube and
a single superior ovary.9

Its fruits are berries with many seeds10 and are either long or round
and vary in colour according to the variety: white, orange, green,
purple or black.11 It is a perennial and fruits all year round.