By agrimag
Eggplants belong to the Solanaceae family, which includes tomatoes and peppers. In the Philippines, eggplant is considered one of the top vegetable crops in terms of volume of production (around 186,000 metric tons from January to June 2019). The Ilocos Region, Pangasinan, Central Luzon, and Southern Tagalog are known as the top producers of eggplant in the country. Every year, eggplant is grown in an average of 21,225 hectares, making it an important source of income for many Filipino farmers.
The size, shape, and color of eggplant varies from round to long and thin, and purple to white and green. East-West Seed offers a wide range of eggplant varieties to cater to the different preferences of consumers in various regions in the Philippines.
Long and purple eggplant varieties, like the Fortuner F1 and Banate King F1, are popular in most regions in the Philippines. Meanwhile, long, green, and white eggplant like the Amor F1 is grown mostly in Batangas. Our Ilocano fellowmen prefer the short and oblong types like the Domino F1. Meanwhile, round, green purple types like the Gwapito F1 is prefered in Nueva Ecija and some other parts of Northern Luzon.
East-West Seeds eggplant varieties.
New high-yielding variety
In line with its mission to increase the income of farmers through high-quality vegetable seed varieties, East-West Seed launched its newest eggplant variety, Mucho F1 this year.
Note: Cost and return is for one crop cycle of 6 to 10 months.
This eggplant variety is a high-yielding, cluster-type eggplant. Its fruit is dark purple in color and can grow from 23 to 25 centimeters long. It is an early maturing variety that can be harvested 55-60 days after transplanting and is still marketable 5-7 days after harvest. It has a very green calyx that makes it always look fresh. Like other eggplant varieties, Mucho F1 can be grown in lowland areas. These characteristics are highly preferred by both farmers and consumers.
Based on East-West Seed’s research, for every 1-hectare area planted with eggplant and provided with proper management, a farmer can earn a net income of up to P724,130, depending on the price of produce during harvest.
A hit with farmersÂ
Mar Patindol, a farmer from Libona, Bukidnon shared that he made more than half a million pesos of gross income within 5 months of harvesting from 7,000 plants of Mucho F1. The average market price in their area during his harvest is at P15/kilogram.
Mar Patindol of Bukidnon among his Mucho F1 plantation.
At the time of the interview, Mar shared that he is projecting his income to reach around a million at the end of the cropping season.
Mucho F1 also brought good income to Jonathan Pacisola, a first-time eggplant farmer from Negros Occidental. He had 2,500 hills of eggplants and within 2.5 months of harvesting, he earned a net income of more than P100,000.
Farmers like Mar and Jonathan prove that eggplant farming can provide a good source of income.
Egg-cited about eggplant? East-West Seed’s pool of experts prepared guides in production and pest and disease management to help you be a successful eggplant farmer! Visit GrowHow (growhow.eastwestseed.com) to access more tips and download our vegetable farming guides. To diagnose your plant’s disease, visit Plant Doctor Online at plantdoctor.eastwestseed.com.
Interested to know more about East-West Seed’s varieties? Download our catalog app: EWS Crop Wiki today!
Contact us at info.ph@eastwestseed.com to find the East-West Seed dealers near you.
This appeared in Agriculture Monthly’s December 2019 issue.Â
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