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ONIONS

Origin and Description

Onion, Allium cepa is a biennial herb, of the Alliaceae family, native to Asia but
cultivated in temperate and subtropical regions for thousands of years. The true onion is a
bulb-bearing plant. For case in Tanzania the place which cultivating onion are karatu
district in Arusha, Singida district, Morogoro (especially in kilosa district), rujewa in
Mbeya region and place of Iringa and Dodoma.

Botany

Onion is by biennual, usually grown as an annual. The root system is adventitious arising
from the short stem. The stem is very short and flattened. It is produced at the base of the
plant, which increases in diameter as growth continues. Alternate leaves are produced in
successions from the broadening stem apex. The leaf elongate to form tubular leaf sheath.
The thickening of the leaf bases forms bulb attains a maximum growth an inflorescence is
produced, which elongates from the stem to form an inflorescence stalk. And this stack
ranges from 30-100 cm in length and is solid at the initial stage and later becomes hollow
and swollen below the middle.

Types and Varieties or Cultivars produced in Tanzania

Although many of varieties of onions are grown in different countries, in Tanzania


Bombay red and Red Creole are the two important varieties in terms of volume of
production. The various strain of Bombay red are maintained in different areas and a
good example is the popular Mangola red, which is maintained or cultivated in
Tengeru, karatu district, also in singida district, Malolo and Lumuma in kilosa
district, and some area of morogoro in mgeta place. Other varieties such as Texas
grano, Tropicana hybrid and early red are produced in some area of Tanzania and
other countries like Kenya and Uganda.

Common varieties grown in Africa are mostly short day or day neutral varieties. on the
list include the following:

'Red Creole'. This is a popular standard variety in high demand because of its good
keeping quality. It produces mainly single onions from transplants, red, flat-round
and with a pungent taste.
'Red Tropicana': Red bulbing type
'Red Tropicana F1 Hybrid'. Produces large, red, thick flat onions with firm pungent
flesh. It is highly productive and therefore demands high levels of management. It
keeps well in dry aerated store.
'Bombay Red'. It is a variety for dry and warmer conditions. It is small to medium
sized, globe shaped, purplish red and pungent.

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'Yellow Granex FI Hybrid'. This is an early maturing high yielding attractive, thick
flat onion with thin yellow scales. The flesh is medium firm, crisp and mild in
flavor. The shape and size is uniform leading to higher market prices, and the
storage quality is good.
'Texas early Grano'. This is a fresh market, early maturing variety with a rather short
shelf life. It is yellowish, mild and not very pungent. The bulbs are high top
shaped with dry yellow scales. It is a heavy yielder for altitude regions.
'White Creole'. This is a white variety normally used for dehydration.
'Green bunching': Non-bulbing spring onion
When buying seed and not recognizing the variety name as one of the above, ask if it has
been grown in Africa before. If not, better stick to a known variety in order not to lose the
whole production.

Markets and Uses

Onions are one of the most versatile vegetables. They are eaten raw in salads, are cooked
or pickled in a variety of ways, and are used as a flavoring or seasoning. Dehydrated
onion products provide popular flavorings for soups and stews. Recent scientific studies
indicate that onions may confer health benefits because they are rich in antioxidants,
molecules that may have anticancer properties.

Ecology and Cultural Requirements of Onions

Onions can be grown under a wide range of climatic conditions but they perform better in
a mild climate without excessive rainfall or great extremes of heat and cold. Cool
conditions with an adequate moisture supply are most suitable for growth, followed by
warm drier conditions for bulb maturation, harvesting and curing.

In temperate zones onion is cool-season biennial, and is tolerant to cold frost conditions.
Onion bulbs are produced or formed during growing day lengths in the season. Optimum
temperatures for plant development range between 13 and 24C, although the range for
seedling growth can be narrow, between 20 and 25C. In the tropics, high temperatures
favour onion bulbing and curing. In the tropics only short day or day neutral onion
varieties will form bulbs while long day onion types will not be able to form bulbs. Short
day onions thrive in warm to hot climates with temperatures from 15-30C. If the
temperature greatly exceeds that required for bulbing, maturity is hastened and bulbs do
not grow to maximum size leading to lowering the yields of the crop.

Onions can be grown on any fertile, well-drained and non-crusting soils with optimum
pH range from 6.0 to 7, although alkaline soils are also suitable. Onions do not grow well
in soils below pH 6.0. Though onion production under organic soils lower pH are
satisfactory with pH of 4 On light sandy soils irrigation is necessary. Soils should be well
structures to permit neat and fine penetration of small seeded crops. Irrigation could be
either overhead or on drip. Onions at the bulbing stage need a substantial amount of

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water, but excessive moisture must be avoided during the growing season. Avoid
application of fresh manure to the crop, as this will cause the plants to develop thick
necks and too much leaves at the expense of bulb formation.
Bulbing in the onions is determined by the interaction of photoperiod and favorable
temperature for bulb induction. Bulbing occurs when there is a change in leaf
morphology when sufficient exposure to a critical day length is exceeded. Buibing is
associated with acceleration of growth of leaf sheaths at the expense of leaf blades which
during earlier growth stage they grow at a more rapid rate. Bulb is formed at a strong
photoperiodic stimulus, even a one-leaf plant can bulb. Generally; onions bulb quicker at
warmer than at cooler temperatures, Increase temperatures in the range of 10-27oc will
hasten bulbing, provided day length is favorable. Cold temperature below - 4oc may
inhibit bulbing and result in mature plants with very thick and elongated necks.

Bolting: This refers to the production of seed stalks for reproductive growth (emergence
of reproductive shoots) It most commonly occurs under vernalization stimulus. A period
of exposure to 5-10oc for 1-2 months in onion is adequate for vernalization of many
cultivars.

CROP ESTABLISHMENT;

a) Propagation and planting;

Prior to planting, soils should be ploughed sufficiently to eliminate debris and soil clods.
In commercial onion production, beds 0.9 to 1.0 m wide are commonly established where
two to six rows are seeded or planted on the bed. If two rows, they may be two-line
(twin) rows with plants staggered to achieve proper spacing and high population density.

Proper seed selection is recommended to minimize problems of splits and doubles. Over-
fertilization, uneven watering, and temperature fluctuations also influence bulb
formation. Onion is propagated by seed (most common in the tropics) or sets (immature
bulbs ripened during the previous season - temperate zones).

Onions can be sown directly into the field. However it is better to sow seeds in the
nursery and then transplant the seedlings.

Direct sowing; Prepare beds of convenient length and about 1 m wide. Mix the soil with
sufficient manure or apply by incorporating phosphates and potassium based fertilizers
earlier before sowing in the rows instead of using manure. The rate of application
depends on status of the soil, ranging from 26 -129kg/ha of P and 50 -250kg/ha of K.
Sow the seeds in rows 15 cm apart and cover lightly with soil. Shade the beds and water
regularly. Remove shade one week after seedlings emerge. When seedlings are about the
thickness of a pencil thin out some seedlings leaving seedlings should be 8 to 15 cm apart
depending on the variety.

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Nursery / transplanting;

In the tropics the seed is usually sown in a nursery under a mulch cover. In the nursery
prepare raised beds maximum 1 m wide and incorporate plenty of well-decomposed
compost as well as additional rock phosphate. Make rows about 15 cm apart, sow the
seeds and cover lightly with soil and mulch. Irrigate liberally for the first 10 days. Seed
rate is 2-3 kg per ha. After the seed emerges, the mulch is removed. About 6-8 weeks
after sowing, when the seedling has a base as thick as a pencil and is approximately 15
cm tall, the seedlings are transplanted to the field. Make raised nursery beds 1 m wide
and of convenient length. Apply manure and sow seeds closely together in rows 15 cm
apart and cover lightly with soil. Shade the beds and water once or twice per day. Also
the seedling should be transplanted when they are about half the thickness of the pencil,
make 75 cm between rows and 30 cm within the rows and apply DSP (1 table spoon for
every 3 paces). The best time of planting bulbs is when the weather is cool enough in
order to induce more flowering. Also the timing of planting should be in such a way that
seed can be harvested during dry condition. Root trimming to 10 -15 cm but this may
slightly reduce yield.

Planting depth is normally 2.5 cm deep below the soil surface, but large bulb varieties
can be planted deeper at 5 10 cm and reduces splits in onions thus better for onion
rings.

Various types of transplants are used, bare rooted, peat blocks or soil blocks and modular
trays that can contain multiple seeds 3 and above. seed rate is variable depending on the
whether the crop is direct or transplanted. Where seeds are directly drilled in rows of
30cm apart on the beds of six rows wide, a seed rate can be determined as

Seed (kg/ha) = 1000 x plant population target (plants/m2)

Number of seeds per gram x % germination x field factor

300 -400 onion seeds are in 1gram and germination percentage ranges from 80 to 90%
field factor is 0.9 under normal well prepared beds, and average soils are 0.7 while poorly
prepared soils the field factor can be 0.5

In a seedbed transplants onions requires 4500 seeds per m2 that can be broadcasted on the
nursery bed or established in rows of 10cm apart. Seedlings will be ready for
transplanting 6 -10 weeks depending on the temperature.

Transplanted crops are normally established at a wide spacing with 20 to 40 plants/m2


within row spacing of 10cm apart.

Also before the bulbs are planted out in the field, they are treated with a fungicidal
solution. The chemical treatment helps to eliminate most of fungal diseases that may have
been infecting the bulbs. The bulbs are soaked in the fungicide solution for 10-20 minutes
and then planted immediately.

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Establishment from Sets

Onions can be established also from sets, these are small onion bulbs of approximately 12
mm in diameter and 2-3 g fresh weight produced by growing onions from seeds I a very
high density of 1000 2000 plants m2. These sets are used in some areas in the
temperate zones to ensure large bulb size and uniform maturity. Planting from sets may
result into bolting especially when stored at low temperatures. But direct seedling is
possible in temperate regions and gives excellent results where herbicides can be used
and the season is sufficiently long to provide early pre-bulbing growth. In the tropics this
method is impractical due to enormous weeding costs in an organic system.

CROP MANAGEMENT

Land preparation and Fertilizer Requirement;

The ploughing and harrowing are operations, which must be done some few weeks before
bulb planting. Ridge may also be prepared for bulb planting. Also the application of the
manure and fertilizer can be as follows, since onions respond very well to well
decomposed organic manure, the farm yard manure at a rate of 25 to 40t/ha should be
incorporated into the soil during land preparation. Nitrogenous fertilizer such as urea and
sulphate of ammonia are applied as to top dressing. The rate of application depends on
the fertility level of the soil. Phosphates and Potassium containing fertilizers should be
applied earlier before sowing in the rows instead of using manure. The rate of application
depends on status of the soil, ranging from 26 -129kg/ha of P and 50 -250kg/ha of K.
Sow the seeds in rows 10- 15 cm apart and cover lightly with soil.
High N application should be avoided, which may results on vegetative growth in thick
necks, multiple centers and even bulb splitting. Onions have very low efficiency of
utilizing N fertilizer; this is because of shallow and sparse root system. Because of
onions shallow root systems, low root densities and lack of root hairs it needs high
concentration of P and K in soil solution to diffuse into root surface at a rate sufficient to
satisfy the potential demand. In Tanzania recommended application of N fertilizer is
about 3 and 6 weeks after transplanting as top-dressing. The fertilizer should be applied
in straight line along rows not to touch the plant. Apply when the soil is moist, each plant
needs about one teaspoonful approximately 5g.

Irrigation;
Adequate soil moisture is very important from bulb planting to harvesting time. Water is
particularly very critical from flowering to physiological plant maturity stage. Lack of
proper soil moisture during this stage may lead to yields and shriveled low quality of crop
or product. The frequency of irrigation depends on the weather condition with an
increased frequency dry spells.

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Phytosanitary management;

Do not plant onions after the field has been planted with other Allium plants (for
example, garlic). Mulching onions with composted leaves and straw is highly
recommended to maintain soil organic content, prevent soil borne diseases, and suppress
weeds. Planting onions in raised beds improves drainage and prevents damping-off
diseases. Crop rotation is important to avoid the build-up of pests and diseases such as
nematodes, Sclerotium and Fusarium
Weeding and harvesting are mostly done by hand, although chemical weed control is
possible but not organic.
Weeding; the crop field should remain weed free throughout the growing period. The
weeds are removed by hand hoe as soon as they appear. Onions are very poor competitors
during the early stages of growth and it is very important that weeding be done as early as
possible. Also do the weeding carefully so as not to damage the roots. While weeding
however loosen the soil around the bulbs to help the bulbs to grow large.

Insect Pests and control the most important pest of onions are onion thrips and onion
maggots common in dry weather..

Insects
Onion thrips (Thrips tabaci) and onion maggots (Hylemya antique) are the most serious
insect pests of onions.

Onion thrips
Thrips are very small insects which cause leaves to become silvery in color followed by
withering of the leaves from the tips down wards. These are similar to other thrips that
cause damage by rasping the leaf surface and feeding on the sap. In hot and dry
conditions, the damage may be severe. The injury appears as white or scorched areas on
the leaves. Application of several insecticides can be effective way of controlling thrips.

Onion maggots
These are larvae of a small fly that lays eggs near the base of the plant. The maggots
enter into stem and bulbs and may feed on the roots. The damage is normally more severe
under cooler temperatures. Soil insecticides, applied in the seed furrow or as a soil drench
after transplanting, will provide good control.

Control; spray with diazinon or fenitrothion following manufacturers instructions.

Diseases
a) Downy mildew
Pathogen; (Peronospora destructor). It is a problem in highland areas when
temperatures are cool and moist.

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Diseases symptoms; initially lesion are formed near tips of older leaves and can be seen
as elongated yellowish lesions. When speculation occurs these lesions become covered
with characteristics grayish mould. As a result, the leaf tip shrinks and death of the leaf
extends to younger leaves. Similar lesions occur on seed stalks. This may encircle the
stem, which become of the extra weight tend to snap/ break and seed development
impaired. Onion leaves appear covered with a brown powder like substance called
downy mildew. Later the leaves all turn brown and die.
Control; - spray with benomyl according to manufacturers instructions.
- Onion debris should be removed and burnt.
- Very damp growing conditions should be avoided.
- Clean seeds and healthy bulbs should be used
- Attacked young plants should be rouged out.
- Crop rotation is highly recommended to avoid infected bulbs and infected
soil.
- Plant should not be planted to thickly.

b) Purple blotch
Pathogen; (Alternaria porri)
Diseases symptoms; the disease attack flower stalk and leaves, but can also attack all
parts of the plant. Symptoms are initially expressed as small whitish sunken spots on the
foliage. Under moist conditions they rapidly enlarge with purple centers. If condition
becomes dry after the first symptoms appeared then the purple color does not develop. If
the lesions extend to curl the leaf collapses and infection may spread to the bulb. If the
foliage is attacked early the plant may fail to produce bulbs. This causes falling over of
the flower stalks before seed formation/ maturity. Oval (egg-shaped) marks which are
grey with purple centre appear on the leaves; the leaves then curl and die.

Control;
- Spray with Mancozeb according to manufacturers instructions. As a preventive
measure for the diseases it is advisable to burn or bury crop residues and/ or
practice crop rotation.
- Destroy the crop debris by burning or burying.
- Use disease free seeds.
- Avoid overhead irrigation.
- Use of resistant or tolerant varieties e.g. Red Creole

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Field inspection; field inspection is done to remove all off types and diseased plants.
Also during field inspection all abnormal plants are discarded from the field.
c) Neck rot
Pathogen; ( Botrytis alii)
Diseases symptoms; this is a serious diseases especially in seed production. A dense
grey sporulation may be found in the field on the upper part of the neck and the base of
the leaves. Flowers may be attacked just before opening. Infection spreads to the base
and the flower fall over and no seed is set.
Control;
- Clean seeds should be used.
- Excessive use of nitrogenous of fertilizers should be avoided.
- Crop debris should be removed and destroyed.
- Seed treatment with the recommended fungicides such as benlate or thiram.
d) Damping- off
Pathogen; several soil fungi (Pithim, Fusarium rhizoctonia, Phytopthora)
Disease symptoms; within few days after emergence, the seedlings suddenly collapse
and fall over. Many seedlings may be destroyed within a few days.
Control;
- Seed dressing with recommended fungicides such as benlate etc.
- Ploughing in top soil is recommended.
- Very compact soils should be avoided.
- Avoid excessive watering and over crowding of the seedling.
- Soil drenching with fungicides and over crowding of the seedling.
- Soil sterilization.

HARVESTING AND POST HARVEST HANDLING

Harvesting;
Onions are ready for harvest 4 to 5 months after planting or when leaves collapse and
begin to turn yellow and dry. Alternatively the leaves and stems can be bent over and left
to dry for 10-12 days.
When the stems have withered, pull up the onions and leave them on the ground to dry
for about three days. Turn the onions over every day so that they dry evenly. Also the
method of harvesting is the hand harvesting using secateurs or sickle is common in
Tanzania. Also the number of harvests is normally 2-3 harvests are necessary. The crop is
pulled out by hand and kept for some days in the field with the bulbs covered by the
leaves (windrowing). The leaves are then cut off and the mature bulbs are bagged or
packed in crates if they are to be stored.
About 2-3 weeks prior to harvesting irrigation should be stopped to allow the soil to dry.
Onions will be ready for harvest when 50- 80% of the tops have collapsed (fallen over),
Onion harvested at full top senescence tend to have short storage life. When onions are
harvested while tops are erect and fleshy, bulb yield is reduced.

Freshly harvested onions are dormant and will not sprout for a variable period of time
(this depends on the variety). Storage will extend the dormant period. Sprouting will

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increase in storage temperatures above 4.4C. It will decrease again as temperatures
exceed 25C.

Yield; in most place of Tanzania the yield of onion range between 56-80 bag/acre but it
depend on the varieties, environment condition of the place, and application of the
agronomic skill.

Curing of Bulbs
Soon after harvest bulbs are cured to enhance formation of well-colored intact outer
skins. Curing improves post harvest handling characteristics of the bulbs. It also limits
the entry of rot causing organisms. This process is performed in the field when weather
permits, or on the room at ambient temperatures.
Field curing involves gathering of the bulbs in wind row for up to 7-14 days, the same as
ambient temperature curing. In areas with strong sunshine, curing must be protected from
direct insulation by covering with leaves to avoid sunscald which kills the outer soft scale
tissue.
After curing the foliage is removed and the bulbs packed for storage. If the bulb skin is
wetted after harvest, particularly if it is covered by decaying leaves; fungal growth
(Botrytis Cinerea) may result in dark staining of the skins. Curing is like drying of the
bulbs, therefore artificial drying of the bulbs can also be achieved at 25-30oc, 25-35%
relative humidity for 12-24hrs, with ventilation air flow.

Storage
Onion bulbs can suitably be stored for up to 8 months under good conditions. Various
post harvest losses can occur in onions due to shrinkage, decay, sprouting and rooting.
Best storage is that which suppress these causes of loss. Onion bulbs store best at or near
0oc and 65-70% relative humidity. Onion can also be stored at high temperature regime
of 25-35oc. Both low and high temperature storage regime prevent sprouting or breakage
of bulb dormancy.

Onion Seed Production requires an isolation distance of 1.5 km between fields of


different varieties usually suggested as a minimum; much greater for stock seed fields.
Onion should also be isolated from Allium fistulosum. In smaller quantity seed
production, isolation can be achieved by using protective insect proof nylon mesh in
cages to prevent insect pollinators from moving to another line or enclosing flower stalk.
Seed production requires bolting which is the production of seed stalks for reproductive
growth (emergence of reproductive shoots) It most commonly occurs under a
vernalization stimulus by exposure of plants to 5-10oC for 1-2 months in onion is
adequate for vernalization of many cultivars in temperate regions, but temperatures can
be slightly higher but cooler in the tropics.

Horticultural and Market Characteristics of Onions ;

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1. Yield, it ranges between 56- 80 bag/acre.
2. Shape, onion is a bulb bearing plant.
3. Color, Yellow Bermuda and white Spanish onions are among the mildest
cultivated onions.
4. Flavor, it produced the characteristic pungent taste; one component readily
dissolves in water to produce sulfuric acid, which may be produced in the eyes
and induce tears.
5. Seed, cleaned seeds are sun dried for 3-5 days. Onion seeds deteriorate very fast
under storage if the seed were not properly dried.

6. Yield, Size or weight of bulb as affected by plant vigor and day length response.
Economic yield may be determined by size limitation but usually by lack of size
uniformity (undersize bulbs less than 4cm is a boiler). Bulbs over 12.5cm are too
large. Pearl onions are grown under very high density.

7. Bulbing response to day length Change from vegetative growth phase. The
size of bulb produced is determined by the size of the plant (leaf surface) when
bulb formation begins because the day length has reached a certain minimum for
the variety.

8. Storage quality Important because onions are stored for relatively long
periods, mostly in common storage. Several factors are responsible or related to
storage quality:
o Pungency
o Dry matter content
o Firmness
o Color (smudge resistance)
o Day length type - short day onions generally poor keepers
o Scale cover, thickness, and retention
o Dormancy - delayed sprouting and rooting
o Small necks - cure well
o Resistance to neck rot and other diseases (related to pungency
and neck characteristics, color)

9. Dry matter (total solids) varies from 4% to 25%, being higher in more pungent
varieties. High dry matter is important in dehydration.

10. Bulb shape Globe to deep globe preferred with small necks and small
basal plates (root attachment). Single centers are desired, especially for onion
rings.

11. Bolting the formation of a seed stalk and inflorescence. Varies


among cultivars. Response to cool weather. Bolting may be bad when onions are
grown in areas cooler than the one in which they were developed. This is a
serious problem in very early onions grown from transplants or sets. 5-10C good
range for flower initiation (vernalization).

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12. Defects Doubles, splits, and uncured large necks.

REFERENCE;

B.B MANETO, C.C MTOLERA, F.E MWAKITWANGE, J. MALLYA, L.M.N


HOROMBO and T. MAINGU (MRS), (2002), Seed Technology: Ministry of
agriculture and food security.

TINDALL, H. D (1983), Vegetables in the tropical: Macmillan press L.T.D:


London.

THOMSON, H. C and KELLY, W.C (1957), Vegetable crops: Mc. Graw- book
Co: New York.

Http//: www. Wikipedia. Com: retrieved 22nd April. 2010.

Http// www. Maxipedia. Org. retrieved 26th April. 2010.

WINCH. T. (2006). Growing food: a guide to food production handbook.

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