Eggplant
Eggplant is a commonly grown fresh market crop in New York, particularly for direct-sales such as farm stands, CSAs and farmers markets. In 2010 there were 400 acres of eggplant in the state with a value of over $4 million (2011 Vegetable Summary). Eggplants yield best in New York when grown on black plastic mulch with drip irrigation. The Cornell Vegetable Program scouts eggplant weekly in the growing season to provide pest and disease updates via VegEdge, our grower-oriented newsletter. Research projects from our program that address eggplant include grafting and specialty variety trials. Check out our links below!Relevant Event
Most Recent Eggplant Content
Currently, there are 8 produce auctions in New York State. These auctions are aggregation points that allow local farmers to sell their produce in wholesale lots to buyers from across the region. To document the economic impact of produce auctions on agriculture, local businesses, family farms, and produce buyers, the Cornell Vegetable Program worked with Harvest New York to survey top sellers and buyers.
A new Cornell Vegetable Program video shares general information about produce auctions, how buyers and sellers use the auctions to expand their businesses, and how local communities benefit from them.
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Growing for Wholesale: Grading and Packing Guidelines by Crop
Last Modified: August 7, 2018
Grading and packing guidelines are now available for 17 commonly grown specialty crops in NYS: acorn squash, broccoli crowns, Brussels sprouts, corn, green peppers, cucumbers, green cabbage, red cabbage, savory cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, green beans, jalapenos, poblanos, Hungarian hot peppers, summer squash, and zucchini.
Video: New York State Produce Auctions
Last Modified: March 8, 2018
Currently, there are 8 produce auctions in New York State. These auctions are aggregation points that allow local farmers to sell their produce in wholesale lots to buyers from across the region. To document the economic impact of produce auctions on agriculture, local businesses, family farms, and produce buyers, the Cornell Vegetable Program worked with Harvest New York to survey top sellers and buyers.
A new Cornell Vegetable Program video shares general information about produce auctions, how buyers and sellers use the auctions to expand their businesses, and how local communities benefit from them.
Growing for Wholesale: Vegetable Grading/Sizing Templates
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program
Last Modified: February 21, 2018
To further assist farmers looking to sell into the wholesale markets, the Cornell Vegetable Program has put together some helpful tools. The tools provided here consist of a color photo guide highlighting the grades of some of the most common vegetables grown for wholesale market in WNY. To aid in the visualization of the grading sizes, the templates are available here for you to print off. These are scaled to size and can be used to create sizing templates to be used by workers on the wash and pack lines.
More Eggplant Content
Asparagus
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Dry Beans
Eggplant
Ethnic Vegetables
Garlic
Horseradish
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuce / Leafy Greens
Melons
Onions
Parsnips
Peas
Peppers
Potatoes
Pumpkins / Gourds
Radishes
Rhubarb
Rutabaga
Snap Beans
Squash - Summer
Squash- Winter
Sweet Corn
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Turnips
Upcoming Events
Fresh Market Vegetable Grower Meeting
February 21, 2019
Th 1:00 - 3:30 PM
Newark, NY
This course will educate fresh market growers on current pest management, food safety, and marketing issues in fresh market crops. Specific topics covered include: managing the weed seedbank, Farm to School marketing opportunities, Late Blight updates, FSMA On-Farm Readiness Reviews, biopesticides and biostimulants and how they work, wash line equipment cleaning checklist, and a discussion of production problems throughout the 2018 growing season.Designing a Safe and Sanitizable Packing Line
March 6, 2019
W 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Branchport, NY
Join Robert Hadad, CVP vegetable specialist, to learn about how to design a produce packing line that fits your budget and maximizes efficiency and food safety. This workshop will cover what you need to take into account when designing your line, along with how you can modify an existing system to for increased sanitation and efficiency. Robert will also discuss how packing line and packing house design fits in with the new Food Safety Modernization Act requirements.Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training
March 11 - March 12, 2019
M 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM; T 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Binghamton, NY
Are you a farmer interested in produce safety? Are your markets asking for food safety plans or third party verification? Do you want to understand produce safety issues as they relate to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Food Safety Rule, third party audits and Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)? Participation in this training, hosted by CCE Broome County, will give you the tools to create an on-farm food safety plan and complete one of the requirements of either FSMA OR the New York State Grown and Certified branding program. We will also discuss potential funding streams to make infrastructure upgrades to your farm related to food safety!Announcements
Cornell Commercial Vegetable Guidelines Available
The 2019 Cornell Integrated Crop and Pest Management Guidelines for Commercial Vegetable Production are now available!Written by Cornell University specialists, this publication is designed to offer producers, seed and chemical dealers, and crop consultants practical information on growing and managing vegetable crops in New York State. Topics include general culture, nutrient management, transplant production, postharvest handling, organic production, and managing common vegetable crop pest concerns. A preview of the Vegetable Guidelines can be seen online.
Highlighted changes in the 2019 Vegetable Guidelines include:
- Updated pesticide options for economically important vegetable crop pests.
- New pests: beet armyworm in beets; cabbage looper and tarnished plant bug in lettuce and endive; allium leafminer in onions; and Cladosporium, Cercospora, and Stemphylium leaf spots in spinach.
Empire State Producers EXPO Proceedings
Proceedings from the Empire State Producers EXPO conference from 2011-2019 are available online.2018 Cornell Vegetable Program Year in Review
2018 is behind us but we hope that our team's efforts to enhance New York vegetable production continues well beyond! This year, our Specialists gave presentations at 119 events, sharing our knowledge with 3,535 people.We continue to conduct on-farm research to help answer the questions of our growers. The Cornell Vegetable Program managed 50 research grants and projects in 2018. We extend our gratitude to the 65 farms and organizations that offered us land, labor, and supplies to support our trials! We also want to thank those farmers that gave generous financial contributions to support our work as well.
We cannot forget to thank the 13 Cooperative Extension Associations that partnered with us this year too. We're excited to be adding Steuben County to our list of participating counties in 2019!
Our 2018 Year in Review brochure highlights our research and educational projects.