Package of Practices in Onion Farming.pdf

Conversion of bulb propagated onion growing region into seed propagation

1. Package of Practices in Onion Farming
Dr. T.SHANMUGASUNDARAM
Research Associate (Hort.)
Department of Vegetable Science
Horticultural College and Research Institute
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore

2. Introduction
Nutritional status
Crop Improvement
Research Achievements
Research reports on Crop
management
Post harvest management
Prelude

3. Tamil Nadu
75%
South
Karnataka,
Andhra
Pradesh and
other states
25%
Small onion
Potato onion
Underground
onion
Multiplier onion
Nesting onion
Queen of Kitchen
Area-1914 Mha
Production -31.12 MT
Productivity –12 t/ha
Production status in India

4. Unique character of aggregatum onion
Crop of tropical and subtropical region
Tolerant to hot and humid tropical climate
Better tolerance to pest and diseases
Longer storage life than the common onion

5. Introduction
Commercial and highly remunerative Allium species

6. Aggregatumonion-commercialbulbvegetable-indispensablepartof
dailydiets,bothvegetarianandnon-vegetarian
Oniongrowingstates:TamilNadu,AndhraPradesh&SouthKarnataka
andsmallpartsofOrissaandKerala
TamilNadu:Area-30,600hectares:Productionof3.01lakh
tonnes
Majordistricts:Tiruppur,Perambalur,Namakkal,Cuddalore,Trichy
andDindigul
95%areaoccupiedbyaggregatumonionandremaining5%by
commononion

7. Major growing districts of Aggregatum Onion

8. Major Aggregatum onion growing districts of
Tamil Nadu (2020-2021)
S.
No. District
Onion
Area (ha)
Production
(MT)
Productivity
(MT/ ha)
1Perambalur
7047.00 70470.00 10.00
2.Tiruchirappalli
3913.00 35217.00 9.00
3.Namakkal
3451.00 46606.00 13.51
4.Tiruppur
2197.92 29956.99 13.63
5.Dindigul
2350.00 31802.00 13.53
6.Coimbatore
1272.37 22905.00 18.00
7.Cuddalore
65.00 425.00 6.54

9. Specific features of Aggregatum onion varieties
Varieties Propagation
Average yield
(t/ha)
Duration
(days)
CO 1, CO 2, CO 3,
CO 4 and MDU 1
Bulb 10 -12 70-85
CO(On)5 Seed and bulb 15.10 135.0
Aggregatumonion
CO 6
Seed and bulb 19.10 130.0

10. Price of Aggregatum onion ?????
•Thepriceofonionmaybringtearstofarmerswhenthepriceofit
fetcheslessthan10rupeesperKg
•SmallonionarrivalsfromKarnatakadecideprofitorlossesofsmall
oniongrowersinTamilNaduineveryseasons
•Karnataka–2
nd
largestproducerofaggregatumonionandcompetes
withTamilNaduinsmalloniontrade
•However,it’sajackpotcrop-whodocultivationrelentlessly

11. Crop improvement
Propagation
Asexual or
Vegetative
Bulblets
(CO 1,CO2 , CO 3 &
CO 4)
Sexual Seeds (CO (On) 5
Protandrous nature of onion flowers -responsible for cross pollination
Anthesis -7 A.M. to 1 P.M.
Pollen shedding over a period of 2 to 3 days
Stigma receptivity -14 hours after anthesis and lasts for 34 hours
Delayed stigma receptivity may reduce self pollination
Pollination -Insects -transfer pollen grains among flowers

12. Breeding methods
•Mass selection
•Recurrent selection
•Selfing and massing
•Hybridization followed by different population improvement
schemes
•Heterosis breeding
•Production of doubled haploids

13. Doubled haploids ????
•Onionpopulationspossessdeleteriousrecessivealleles,anddueto
inbreedingdepression
•Hybridvigourloosedquickly
•Conventionalbreeding-difficulttoobtainhomozygousinbredswith
completegeneticandphenotypicuniformity
Alternativestrategy
Doubled haploid (DH) production
Betterchoice-Productionofhybridswithin2yearsinsteadof10-12
yearsthroughconventionalbreedingmethods

14. Institutes working under aggregatum onion
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru
Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research, Rajgurunagar
National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation,
Nasik, Pune
Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Odisha

15. Description of a Few Varieties
1. Red colour Varieties

21. White colouredvarieties

23. Yellow coloured varieties

24. CO 1 Light red, medium size ,7-9 laterals bulbs, maturity 65
days,yield12 tonnes/ha
CO 2 Light red, 7-9 laterals bulbs, maturity 65 days,showsresistance
to purple blotch
CO 3 Pink coloured,8-10 laterals bulbs,biggersized bulbs,likedby the
consumers has medium resistance to thrips.
CO 4 8-10 laterals bulbs ,matures in 60-65 days, yields 18tonnes/ha
MDU 1 Good keeping quality and resistant to thrips.
AgrifoundRed weight of a clump 65-68g,light red,yields18-20 tonnes/ha

25. CO 1 (1965)
Clonal selection from CS
450 from Manachanallur
Bulbs –medium size and red
colour
Bulb weight-55 to 60 g
Yield -10 tha
-1
Duration -90 days
Fairly pungent with medium
TSS content (8 -9
0
Brix)
CO 2 (1978)
SelectionfromCS 911
germplasmtype
Numberofshoots/plant-7to9
Bulbs–Moderatelybiggersize
andcrimsoncolour
Bulbweight-60to65g
Yield-12tha
-1
PungentwithhighTSScontent
(12
0
brix)
Resistanttopurpleblotch
MULTIPLIER ONION VARIETIES

26. CO 3 (1982)
Clonal selection from open
pollinated progenies of CS
450
Number of shoots/plant -6 to 8
Bulbs –bolder size and pink
colour
Bulbweight-75g
Duration-65-70days
Yield-15.8t/ha
TSScontent-13
0
brix
Resistanttothrips
CO 4 (1984)
Hybridderivativeofthecross
AC863xCO3
Bulbweight-90g/clump
Duration–65days
Yield–19tha
-1
PungentwithhighTSScontent
(12
0
brix)
Resistanttothrips

27. CO (On) 5 (2001)
Mass pedigree selection
Free flowering and seed setting
type
Seed yields 250-300 kg/ha
Bulbs –attractive pink coloured
bold size
Duration-90days
Yield-18.9t/ha
TSScontent-13
0
Brix
Season:
March–July :Bulb
production
November–January: Seed
production
MDU 1
SelectionfromtheSempatti
local
Bulbs–bigsizedbulbsand
brightredcolour
Yield-13t/ha
Resistanttothrips
Toleranttolodgingdueto
thickerectleaves

28. Aggregatum Onion Variety CO 6
Particulars Aggregatum Onion Variety CO 6
No. of leaves per clump 14 -18
No. of bulbs per clump 5-7
Weight of bulbs per clump (g) 90 -100
Polar diameter (mm) 28.2
Equatorial diameter (mm) 28.5
Bulb colour Pink
Shape of bulb Near round
Seedto bulb duration (days) 100
Bulb to seed duration (days) 92-102
Bulb yield (t/ha) 19.12
Seed yield ( kg/ ha)
250-300

29. Seed and bulb propagated onion varieties
Onion CO 6

30. Arka Ujjwal
Pedigree breeding
Suitable for export market
Yield-30t/ha
TSScontent-18
0
brix
Agrifound Red (1987)
Bulbletsperclump:5-6
Averageclumpweight:65-67g
Recommended forcultivationin
KharifandRabiseason:TamilNadu,
KarnatakaandKerala
Bulbs:Lightred
Duration:65-67daysafterplanting

31. Main growing seasons
The onion thrives better in cool season.
Drought conditions are very harmful for plant growth and bulb
formation.
Kharifonion varieties require day length of 10 -11 hrs where as rabi
varieties relatively higher temperature and 12-13 hrs of day length.
The optimum temperature is 12.8°C to 23°C before bulbingand
20°C -25°C during bulbing.


32. Temperatureismoreimp.thandaylengthinseedproductionwhile
photoperiodismoreimportantthantemperatureforbulbformation.
Rabicrop:September–October&November-December
Kharifcrop:June–July
70%ofaggregatumonioniscultivatedasrabicrop
30%ofaggregatumonioniscultivatedasKharifcrop
Soil
Soilrichinhumus,friable,well-drainedwithabilitytoretainsoilmoisture.
Avoidalwaystooheavysoilsforonioncultivation.
Highacidityandalkalinity.
pHis5.8to6.5

33. Research progress
Highly sensitive to temperature and photoperiod
Tamil Nadu-cultivated throughout the year
Best seasons
April –July
October-November and
January –March
Heavy rains and extreme winter –highly sensitive
Seasonal influence on growth and yield
Genotypes Plantingseason Remarks
CO(On)5 September,October,
November and
December
Highestbulbandseed
yieldperunitarea
Puttarasaltype
Santhaipadugailocal
(Rohini, 2015 and 2016)

34. Propagation
80 % –bulb
15-20 % -seed
Bulb propagated onion varieties: CO 1, CO 2, CO 3 ,CO 4 and
MDU 1
Seed and bulb propagated onion varieties -CO(On)5
Replaced by Aggregatum onion CO 6
Bulb requirement –1000 kg/ha
Seed requirement –2.5 kg/ha

35. Nursery practices
•Sowninraisednurserybedsof15–22.5cmht,seedaretreatedwith
Thiram@2-3g/kg.
•Sowinginlinesplacedat5-7cmdistance.
•AftersowingtheseedsarecoveredwithfinepowderedFYMor
compostfollowedbylightwateringbyrosecan.
•Thebedsarecoveredwithstrawtomaintainrequired
temperatureandmoisture.

36. Main field preparation and transplanting
•Thefieldisploughed4-5timesand15-20tonnesofFYMisapplied
atthelastploughing.
•Alongwiththisaquantityof50kgofZincsulphateorferrous
sulphateisappliedandploughed.
•Justbeforetransplanting,thebasaldoseofN,PandKisappliedon
boththesidesoftheridges.(50kgN,150kgPand75kgKper
hectare).On30
th
day50kgofN/haisappliedastopdressing.
•Transplanttheseedlingsataspacingof15×10cmforcommonbig
sizedonion.

37. Nutrient management
Aggregatum
onion
variety/
genotype
Nutrient
recommendation
Result References
CO2 60:60:30 kg
NPK/ha
Increasedbulb
yield
Subbiahetal.
(1982)
Aggregatum
onion
genotype
60:60:30kgNPK/ha;
ZnSO
4+FeSO
450
kg/haeach
Bulbyieldof17.1
t/ha
Jawaharlal
etal.(1985)
CO4 45:45:30kgNPK/ha
along with
Azospirillumand
Phosphobacteria
Highestplantheight
(49.1cm),number
ofleaves(46.33)
andyield(18.37
t/ha)andmaximum
shapeindex(3.36)
Thilakavathy
and
Ramaswamy
(1998)

38. Effect of fertigation on growth and yield
Cultivated under drip and fertigation system
Recommended dose: 60:60:30 kg NPK / ha
75 % of P
2O
5-applied as basal during last ploughing
Savitha(2009)reportedapplicationof75percentRDF(i.e.45:45:22.5
kgofNPK/ha)throughstraightfertilizerviz.,Urea,SSPandSOP
recordedthehighestbenefitcostratio(3.20and4.24)intwoseason

39. Effect of micronutrients on growth and yield
Morethan70%ofTamilNadusoils-foundtobedeficientinnutrientsand
micronutrients
Eventhough,micronutrientsareneededbytheplantsinaminorquantity
Playanactiveroleinplantmetabolicprocess,plantgrowth,yieldandquality
Micronutrients Effect
Boraxat10kgha
-1
Highestpolar,equatorialdiameterand
highestnumberofbulbletsperclump
Soil application of ZnSO
4 at 10 kg ha
-1
HighestTSScontent
0.5%foliarsprayofZnSO
4at30and45days
aftertransplanting(DAT)
IncreasesAscorbicacid,totalchlorophyll
content,totaldrymatterproductionand
highesbenefit:costratio
(Acharyaetal.,2018)

40. IRRIGATION
•Justaftertransplantingofseedlingslightirrigationisessential.
•Subsequentirrigationsshouldbegivenasperneedofthecrop.
•Thequantityofwateranditsfrequencyofapplicationdependsoncrop
growth;soiltypes,plantingseason,etc.
•Irrigationshouldbewithheld15to20daysbeforecommencementof
maturity;otherwiseitwilldelaythematurityandreducethequalityof
bulbs.
•Criticalstagesforirrigationinonionarebulbformationandenlargement
stages,theirrigationsduringthisperiodshouldbeattendedcarefully.
•Thesplittingoftheouterscalesmaybeobservedwhendryspellis
followedbyirrigation.

41. WEEDING AND INTERCULTURE
•Weedicidescanbeprofitablyusedforcontrolofweeds.
•[email protected]/ha3-5weeksafter
transplanting.
•ApplicationofBasalin1Lit/haimmediatelyaftertransplantinghelps
controltheweeds.
•[email protected]/haappliedimmediatelyaftertransplantingandbefore
firstirrigationwithonehandweedinggivesthebestresults.
•Applicationof0.2%Oxyflurofen23.5%ECbeforeplanting+onehand
weedingat40-60daysaftertransplantingisrecommendedfor
marketablebulbyieldandweedcontrolefficiency(65-80%).-
RecommendationbyDOGR,Pune

42. Intercropping
Shortdurationgardenlandcrop
Respondswelltointercroppingsystemwithlongdurationcropslike
bananaandsugarcane
Misra(2000)reportedincreasedtotalproductivitybyintercroppingof
onionwithsugarcane
120cmwiderowspacingforsugarcaneandplantingofaggregatum
onionasintercropathighdensity(1:4ratio)recordedthemaximum
productivityandeconomicreturnscomparedtonormalrowspacing
(90cm)andlowdensityplanting(1:2)ofonion
(Mahadevaswamy,2001;Mahadevaswamy and James
Martin,2003)

43. Post harvest handling and storage
•Estimatedtobelostbypostharvestlosses-35to40%
•Lossesduetoreductioninmoistureanddrymatter,sproutingand
rotting
•Lossescomprises
(TripathiandLawande,2016)
•Post-harvestmanagement-crucialoperation-productionchain
Physiological loss in weight 30-40%
Rotting 10-12%
Sprouting 8-10%

44. Pre-harvest practices
Pre-harvestsprayofMaleichydrazide(2000-2500ppm)prevents
rottingandsproutingofbulbsstoredatroomtemperature
Preharvestsprayingofcycocelat1000ppmtwentydaysbefore
harvestinginCO(On)5recordedlowestpostharvestlossesofbulbs
causedbysprouting,rottingandphysiologicallossinweightwithless
reductioninqualitycharactersviz.,Moisturecontent,TSS,pyruvic
acid,ascorbicacidsolubleproteinandsulphurcontent
(IreneVethamoniandGomathi(2018)

45. Storage structures
•NHRDFandNAFEDerectedstoragestructuresinNasikforhelping
farmers
•Ventilationfromallsidesincludingbottomarerecommendedfor
adaptationtoreducepostharvestlosses
•Thesestructuresareof5,10,20,25and50MTcapacitysuitablefor
farmerstoholdstocksandavoiddistresssale
•Thesestoragestructuresreducestoragelossesby20-50%depending
upontheperiodofstorage

46. Major problems
Poor post harvest handling and storage
35 to 40 % of the onion -post harvest losses -handling and
storage
Present storage system: conventional method
Storage system should be removed

47. Improved storage method
Bulkstoredinspecialhousesorstructureswiththatchedroofand
sidescoveredbybamboostickswithaprovisionofgoodair
circulation
Thebulbsarestoredintheseshedsbyspreadingthemondryand
dampprooffloororracks
Periodicalturningofbulbsorremovalofrotten,damagedand
sproutedbulbsneedstobedone
Wellventilatedroomwithracksortiershavingtwoorthreelayers
ofbulbswouldbedesirableforproperstorage

48. Scope to increase the production
Tocoverthepresentarea(30,600hectares)–30lakhtonnes
–bulbsarerequired
Conversionofbulbpropagatedoniongrowingregioninto
seedpropagation
About30lakhtonnesofbulbswillbeavailablefor
consumption
Cultivationofaggregationonioninnon-conventionalareas
Majordistricts:Tiruppur,Perambalur,Namakkal,Cuddalore,
TrichyandDindigul

49. Low volume low cost onion structure
This storage structure is suited for 5 to 10 tons capacity
Reduce storage losses by 20-50% depending upon the period of
storage
Storage structures developed by DOGR, Pune

50. High volume bottom & side ventilated onion storage structure
This storage structure is suited for 25-50 tons capacity
Reduce storage losses by 20-50% depending upon the period of
storage
Storage structures developed by DOGR, Pune

51. Low cost Bamboo storage structure at TNAU,
Coimbatore

52. Thank you..