Onion

Description

Temperature Requirements:

Onions are a cool-season biennial that are usually grown as an annual crop. They have narrow, hollow leaves and a base that enlarges to form a bulb, which can be white, yellow, or red. Onions are known for their pungent flavor and aroma, which are caused by sulfur-containing compounds.

Onion is a temperate crop but can be grown under a wide range of climatic conditions such as temperate, tropical and subtropical climate. The best performance can be obtained in a mild weather without the extremes of cold and heat and excessive rainfall.

The optimum temperature for vegetative phase and bulb development is 13-24˚C and 16-25˚C, respectively. It requires about 70% relative humidity for good growth. It can grow well in places where the average annual rainfall is 650-750 mm with good distribution during the monsoon period.

Soil Type:

the best soil for successful onion cultivation is deep, friable loam and alluvial soils with good drainage, moisture holding capacity and sufficient organic matter. In heavy soils, the bulbs produced may be deformed. Onion crop can be grown successfully on heavy soil with application of organic manure prior to planting and preparation of the field for onion cultivation should be very good.

Area:

In India, onions have two crop cycles, with the first harvest from November to January and the second from January to May. Onions are produced in three seasons: rabi, kharif, and late kharif. The rabi season crop of onion is harvested in April-May, while the kharif onion crop is available in the market in October to December.

The major onion producing states in India are Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, and Telangana.