Vegetables

Production Guide

Adaptability:   13 – 24 °C (mean monthly temperature)
Maturity:

• 90 – 120 days  (AFTER SOWING)  —  bulb type
• 90 – 100 days  (AFTER SOWING)  —  cluster type

Planting Distance:   15 cm  X  15 cm
Plant Population (per ha):   444,444 hills per ha
Seeding Rate:   1.5 – 2 kg/ha
Number of Seeds (per gram):   238 seeds
Method of Planting:   best transplanted
Sowing To Germination:   10 – 14 days
Germination To Transplanting:   40 – 45  days
pH Requirement:   6 – 6.8
Harvesting:

• Open-pollinated cultivars do no mature uniformly, so priming is practiced
• Crop is pulled out by hand and remains for some days (10 – 12) in the field with the bulbs covered by the leaves = windrowing

Potential Yield:

• 10 – 14 t/ha (red onion) — bulb type
• 15 – 20 t/ha (yellow onion) — bulb type
• 10 t/ha — cluster type

Postharvest Handling:

Curing – necessary in preventing rot-causing organisms from entering the bulb if the necks are not dry

1.  Windrowing
2.  Force Heating — 46 – 47°C for 12 – 24 hours

Storing

• 3 – 6 months  =  0 – 7°C  —  low
• 3 – 6 months  =  25 – 35°C  —  high