Eggplant seed production and quality in different times of manual pollination

The experiment was carried out at Vegetal Production Department, Horticulture subdivision, Universidade Estadual Paulista, aiming to evaluate the production and quality of eggplant seed (cultivar Embu) when pollination was conducted at different times of the day. The experimental design was a randomized block, with seven treatments (7:00am, 9:00am, 11:00am, 1:00pm, 3:00pm, control 1= natural pollination, no flower protection and control 2= natural pollination with flower protection with paper bags), with four replications and six plants per plot. Lower production and quality of seeds were obtained when flowers were previously protected. Natural pollination, with no flower protection, showed superior results when compared to manual pollination, with larger weight, length and diameter of fruits and bigger seed production per fruit. Natural pollination , with no flower protector, enabled, also, to obtain of seeds with similar germination and vigor compared to other processes.

Solanum melongena L.; natural pollination