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7 Eggplant (Garden Egg)
Pages 136-153

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From page 137...
... Also known as brinjal or aubergine. 2 China and Southeast Asia together contribute 78 percent of world production, and in Japan eggplant is the fourth-most-important vegetable, after sweet potato, radish and Chinese cabbage.
From page 138...
... Popular vegetarian dishes now include such things as eggplant Parmesan, eggplant lasagna, eggplant curry, and even eggplant chili. The vegetable also lends splashes of purple to trendy modern sautés, ragouts, pizzas, or vegetable Napoleons.9 It has even become big in the self-styled capital of cuisine: New Orleans.10 While this culinary juggernaut commandeered the world of cuisine, the original eggplant -- the Guinea squash -- was left to languish.
From page 139...
... Because the taxonomy of the different African eggplants is too complex and uncertain to bother with here, we have chosen to highlight a single
From page 140...
... Despite international obscurity, this is a resource of considerable economic importance. Throughout Africa local garden eggs are very popular and play an important part in many diets.
From page 141...
... A survey in Dar es Salaam, for example, found that the most frequently grown non-leafy vegetables were (in order of importance) : tomato, common eggplant, African eggplant, sweet pepper, hot pepper, okra, cucumber, and carrot.13 To sum up: The local garden eggs are significant vegetable resources almost Africawide.
From page 142...
... In rural districts from Senegal to Mozambique women are commonly seen hefting baskets of them on their heads to sell in nearby villages or townships. Yet these vegetables have untapped commercial promise and could become the cornerstone of localized rural economic development.
From page 143...
... Although bitter taste is a major characteristic, many African eggplants are sweet or bland, especially in the immature stages in which they are eaten. The unripe fruits are usually cooked in a sauce after being chopped, parboiled, ground, or otherwise prepared.
From page 144...
... But African eggplants can. The fruits come in types that can be very ornamental, gleaming in more colors than the rainbow.
From page 145...
... Growers currently minimize this by picking fruits gently and in the cool of the day, avoiding exposure to the sun, and -- where possible -- putting in cool storage for a few hours, but many tricks undoubtedly remain to be learned. LIMITATIONS The very thought of growing African eggplant is likely to raise hackles in some quarters.
From page 146...
... species have perfectly edible parts but, despite all the evidence of their safety, people typically fear the worst. When the common eggplant was first introduced to Europe, botanists prophesied that consuming it would cause insanity.18 Potato, tomato, and peppers -- all of which are nightshade 18When the common eggplant turned up in England, John Gerard advised readers of his 1597 Herball to avoid it and "rather...to content themselves with the meate and sauce of our owne country than with fruit and sauce eaten with such perill; for doubtless these apples have a mischievous quality; the use thereof is utterly forsaken." In France, eggplant was rumored to provoke fever and induce epilepsy.
From page 147...
... In addition, public interest in the greater use of garden eggs needs to be kindled. Indeed, these veggies could quickly fit into development-support programs across the continent -- programs dealing with such things as urban agriculture, soil protection, traditional foods, home gardens, sustainable development, women's welfare, and rural development.
From page 148...
... Genetic Development There are excellent chances for genetically enhancing African garden eggs for increased yield and other features through simple selection and/or plant breeding (perhaps including hybridization)
From page 149...
... Such markers should allow the molecular tagging of agronomic traits and provide powerful tools for breeding whole new worlds of African eggplants. Genes for Improving Other Crops Because of their genetic closeness to major global crops in the Solanaceae, African eggplants may also provide powerful tools to the breeders of such things as tomato, potato, and eggplant.
From page 150...
... Taxonomic Clarification Solanum taxonomy has been clarified and resolved so often that outsiders have almost lost faith. African eggplants offer a world of possibilities for overcoming taxonomic difficulties in this important family because they lie somewhere among potato, tomato, peppers, and the common eggplant.
From page 151...
... Environmental Requirements The crop's ecological requirements are thought to be much like those of common eggplant, although Solanum aethiopicum is probably slightly hardier, and more tolerant of drought. Rainfall 500-1200 mm or more.
From page 152...
... Sandy loam to friable clay soils with a pH range of 5.5 to 6.8 have been declared "particularly suitable." However, one report from Britain notes that "providing the soil is well drained, the actual soil type appeared almost irrelevant to good growth." Photoperiod Believed to be day neutral. Related Species Gboma eggplant The present chapter has focused on the gilo eggplant, Solanum aethiopicum, but it might well have dealt with this gboma eggplant, Solanum macrocarpon.
From page 153...
... EGGPLANT (GARDEN EGG) 153 · The Kumba Group.


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