Vineland reports findings on commercial potential for eggplant varieties

A team at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) is investigating varieties with commercial potential for production in Canada to meet growing consumer demand for produce and replace imported produce with local, according to a press release from Vineland. 

Statistics Canada reported patterns of growth of produce demand over the last five years, according to the reelase. Eggplant consumption – particularly exotic varieties not previously grown in Canada – is forecasted to increase 130 per cent by 2030 to 55 million kilograms. This is a market currently supplied by imports.

Dr. Viliam Zvalo, Vineland’s Research Scientist in Vegetable Production Systems and his team initiated simultaneous research trials on both Chinese long and Indian round eggplant during the 2015 growing season. “We undertook a Pan-Canadian farm trial with 22 growers to identify eggplant varieties with good agronomic characteristics that meet consumer demands,” said Zvalo. “We also investigated whether grafting onto different rootstocks improved disease resistance and yield.”