Objective   Anthocyanin content at various growth stages and fruit quality of eggplants exposed to low temperature and/or deficient light were studied.

  Methods  Purple black eggplant Xiu Niang was grown in a greenhouse under (A) daytime/night temperatures of 18 ℃/13 ℃ with normal lighting at 250 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹, (B) normal temperatures of 25 ℃/20 ℃ with poor lighting at 120 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹, (C) low temperatures of 18 ℃/13 ℃ with poor lighting at 120 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹, or (CK) normal temperatures and lighting. Growth, physiology, anthocyanin contents in different plant parts, and quality of fruit of the eggplants at seedling, flowering, and fruiting stages were monitored.

  Results  The stresses of low temperature and/or poor lighting affected the growth of eggplant seedlings. Low temperature alone (i.e., A) exerted significantly greater effects on the growth and physiology of the seedlings than B or C. The anthocyanin contents in the organs of a seedling ranked stems＞leaf veins＞leaves＞roots. At the flowering stage, the content was higher in the petals than the calyx; and at the fruiting stage, it ranked peels＞stalks＞fruits＞pulp. The anthocyanin content in the plant at all stages under various treatments were B＜CK＜C＜A. The coloration of eggplant was intensified by the treatments in a trend of B＜CK＜C＜A. And the treatments appeared to cause reductions in the order of A＜C＜B＜CK on the soluble sugars, soluble proteins, flavonoids, and total phenols contents in the plants.

  Conclusion  Exposure to low temperature (e.g., 18 ℃ in daytime and 13 ℃ at night) promoted, but poor lighting inhibited, anthocyanin synthesis in eggplant. When both conditions were imposed simultaneously on the plants, the effect of low temperature on anthocyanin overshadowed that of poor lighting. In contrast, the fruit quality suffered by either low temperature, poor lighting, or both, especially low temperature.