Eggplants are becoming increasingly popular in private gardens, but summer residents are in for an unpleasant surprise: the fruits grow bitter.
Why this happens and how to avoid it will be discussed below.
Where does bitterness come from?
Eggplant belongs to the nightshade family and is a close relative of potatoes and tomatoes.
All of these crops contain solanine, a toxic substance found in greens and fruits.
Everyone knows that you can't eat green potato tubers, as the concentration of solanine in them is very high. But in eggplants, this substance often exceeds the permissible norms, giving them a bitter taste.
Eating large amounts of fruits containing a lot of solanine can lead to poisoning. Its symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, disorientation, and dilated pupils.
In case of severe poisoning, convulsions and coma begin. It is difficult for an adult to get severe poisoning, since they would have to eat a lot of fruit. Children, elderly people and pets are at increased risk.
How to avoid solanine accumulation
In nature, this alkaloid performs a protective function, helping the plant to protect itself from destruction by animals, diseases and pests.
Note: solanine has insecticidal and fungicidal properties, so an infusion of tomato and potato tops is often used to spray other plants against diseases and pests.
When does a plant accumulate the most toxins? When it is threatened with death, that is, in stressful situations.
Stressful situations are:
- drought;
- abundant watering after drought;
- hot weather.
Eggplant also accumulates solanine as the fruit ripens to protect the seeds from being eaten by animals.
How to prevent bitterness
1. Provide the plants with uniform, frequent watering. This crop requires constantly moist soil, so eggplants need to be watered at least once every 4-5 days, pouring at least 5 liters of water under the plant.
2. Shading in hot weather will not only prevent excessive drying of the soil and stress for the plant, but will also increase the yield. In hot weather, eggplants do not set fruit.
3. Picking the fruits in time will allow you to eat them before they accumulate solanine. The greatest amount of alkaloid is observed in ripe fruits. Harvest while the fruits are young.
Note: if the pulp is white, then there is no solanine in it, or it is contained in insignificant quantities. If the pulp has acquired a grayish color, then the accumulation process has already begun.
To reduce the risk, you should choose varieties that are resistant to bitterness. The manufacturer usually indicates this in the description of the variety.
