Japanese Eggplant Changed Shape And Color?

Question

Hi Everyone;

Hope you all had a wonderful summer!

I noticed something very curious with our Japanese eggplant, and was wondering if any of you might be able to tell me what is going on.

We planted the Japanese eggplant back in late March. When the plants were very small, we almost lost them. They didn’t seem like they were going to make it. We never gave up on them, but we didn’t hold out much hope.

Then, in early to mid May, I realized they were beginning to grow again. They ended up producing a few fruit before the weather turned really hot in June. The fruit then was normal – long and narrow with a purple color.

All summer, I watered them and fed them organic plant food. When the weather was about to change, they started to blossom again and set fruit.

But now, the fruit is short and a lot thicker than it was, and the color is not the same either – they are now purple with some green stripes. It’s almost like somebody replaced our Japanese eggplants with a different variety when we weren’t looking.

I harvested about 6 of them last week, and fried them. They were delicious, and I can’t wait for the plants to produce more (there are some on the plants now), but does anyone have any idea why the fruit would change like that?

I don’t know if the really hot days of July and August here in the Phoenix Valley might have changed them somehow. We had temperatures over 100 degrees pretty much every day from June until about a week and a half ago, with some days being about 110 – 112 or so.

I managed to keep most of the garden alive, though… Pretty proud of that.

Anyway – if anyone can give me some insight, I would appreciate it.

Thank you all in advance and have a wonderful day.

Janine R. Pestel

Answer 1

This can be common in areas of head, which it sounds like is happening. High heat, and both high and low humidity can cause this. Most varieties have this built in stress reaction, but it is far more common in cultivars with "green fruit" hybrids in the family line.

This article will help you with the care of eggplant: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/eggplant/growing-eggplant.htm