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Introduction
- Onions, Allium
cepa L., Cepa group, is a biennial of the Alliaceae family. The
edible portions of the bulb are the enlarged leaf bases and
compact stem.
- Onion is a
cool season biennial that is tolerant of frost.
- Onion, being
high in water content, is a delicate commodity to store and requires
special procedure and parameters, giving rise to the concept of
Onion cold storage.
- The most
important factors for proper onion storage are good air circulation,
relative dryness and cool temperatures.
Storage
Process
- Onions
intended for storage should be dried well and cured in the field,
under sheds, or in storage.
- Bunched green
onions can be stored 3 to 4 weeks at 0 °C (32 °F) with 95 to 98% RH.
Under these conditions, bunched onions stored in polyethylene-lined
containers and top-iced maintain excellent quality for 1 mo.
- Storage-life
decreases to 1 week if the temperature is 5 °C (41 °F), and rapid
yellowing and decay of leaves occurs at higher temperatures.
- Drying is
complete when the onion neck is tight, outer scales are dry and make
a rustling noise when touched, and the skin color is uniform.
- Onions packed
in sacks can only be stored for a limited period of time, about 1
mo, since air movement through sacks is insufficient to maintain
proper storage conditions.
- In handling
onions it is a good idea to pass them over a screen to catch any of
the loose skins and to remove any of the soft, decaying bulbs.
- Another good
option for storing onions is to tie them up in bunches and store
them by hanging them upside down in a cool, dry place.
Technology
- Onion cold
storage system is used in many countries of the world to store
Indian onion. It is suggested here that along with cold chain
facilities it is required to maintain the quality due to high
ambient temperature prevalent in our country.
- Irradiation
treatment at 5-15 Krad has shown to inhibit sprouting of onions
among other root and bulb crops. The treatment is most effective
before sprouting has initiated. Doses below 15 Krad have minor
effects on quality, while higher doses may induce undesirable side
effects.
- Chemical
control of sprouting and retting in onions has not attained the
degree of dependability due to probably occasional adverse effects
on the crop, though the use of maleic hydrazide has been
commercialised in some of the major onion producing countries.
Market
- China
dominates the world in onion production with an annual contribution
of around 32% to the world production. India’s contribution was
around 10% to the world production and is the second largest
producer in the world.
- India mainly
exports onions to South East Asian countries, Middle East-Gulf
countries and CIS countries.
- 59% of
imported dried onions originated from Turkey, 16% from Egypt, 8%
from Greece and 7% from Macedonia. The majority of the imports of
onions sets is divided between Macedonia 35 %, Holland 23% and
Turkey 22%.
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