Onion Production Guideline 2014 - Starke Ayres

1 SEEDS OF SUCCESSCUSTOMER SERVICES: 0860 782 753 MEMBER OF THE PLENNEGY GROUPONIONPRODUCTION GUIDELINESEEDS OF SUCCESSCUSTOMER SERVICES: 0860 782 753 MEMBER OF THE PLENNEGY GROUPONIONS 1. 1 HISTORY AND BACKGROUND Oni on s are part of th e Allium family which al so i nc ludes garlic a nd s hal lots. They are grown world-wi de and form an i mpo rtant p art of many nati onal d iets. Onion s have be en cul ti vat ed s inc e anc ient times and are a commercial ly sign ificant c rop o n all conti ne nts.

2 2. ADAPTABILI TY 2. 1 CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS Altho ugh on ion s are essen tial ly a cool s eas on c rop , i n Sou th Africa t hey are pl an ted vir tu al ly al l year roun d. In the North ern reg ions of th e coun tr y s owing i s no rmal y f rom Februa ry to Apr il, i n th e cen tr al r egi on f rom A pril to Jul y an d i n th e S ou th ern regi ons transplan ted f rom J ul y to Octo be r. Bul b formati on i s l argely depe ndan t on day l en gth and ver y s pe cific v arieties are nee ded for each area.

3 Ideal s oi l t empe rature for germina ti on : 11-25 c Ideal te mpe rature for growt h : 22 28 C 2. 2 SOIL REQUIREMENTS pH 6 Oni on s grow o n a wi de range of s oi ls but go od drainage i s impo rtant. 3. CULTIVATION PRACTICES 3. 1 SOIL PREPERATION It i s essen tial that soil is well-prepared f or an oni on crop. It shoul d be l oo se to a dep th of at l ea st 75 cm and i f heavy r ai n i s e xpe cted in the e arly s tages of growth, raised be ds wi ll r ed uc e the ef fec t o f any waterloggi ng.

4 Where see d i s to be di rec t-sown a fine, even see d bed i s v ita l i n order to produc e an accep table stand. 3. 2 SOWING DATES Opti mal s owing dates v ar y wi th loc alit y, s oil t ype an d variety. Sho rt day varieti es a re used in the Northern an d c en tr al areas of S ou th A frica with Intermed iate day-leng th v arieties us ed i n both cen tr al an d Southern regions . Gui del ine s are availab le from s up pl iers as t o which varieties s houl d be used at which ti me.

5 3. 3 PLANT POPULATION AND SPACING. A f inal populat ion of 700-800,000 plan ts pe r h ec tare gives the highes t p ropo rti on of med ium-sized bu lbs whi ch are preferred b y th e Sou th African market. S eed i s s own at a de pt h of 1 2c m. 3. 4 FERTILIZATION Guideline N 180 Kg/h a. 60 Kg pre-pl ant, 6 0Kg at 2 l ea f s tage 60 Kg at 4 week s. P 100Kg. A ll ap plied pre-pl ant. K 170 Kg. 110Kg pre-plant, 60Kg 7-8 weeks prior to harves t.

6 A s oi l a nalysis is r eq uired for for mul ati on of a detaile d programme. SEEDS OF SUCCESSCUSTOMER SERVICES: 0860 782 753 MEMBER OF THE PLENNEGY GROUPINDEMNITYAll technical advice and/or Production guidelines given by Starke Ayres or any of its personnel with reference to the use of its products, is based on the company s best judgement. However, it must be expressly understood that Starke Ayres does not assume responsibility for any advice given or for the results 5 IRRIGATION The s oi l profile shoul d be wet to a dep th of 50 60 c m.

7 The amou nt of w at er appl ied wi ll v ar y ac cording to s oil t ype, irri gati on s ystem te mpe rature and growth stage of th e crop. Many growers now make use of mon itoring systems i n orde r to make th e be st u se of available water. Dr yland producti on of Onion s i s n ot rec ommen de d. Soi l s hou ld no t be allowed to dr y ou t, espe cial ly during bu lb for mati on . 3. 6 OTHER CULTURAL PRACTICES 1) Oni on s may b e direc t s own or tran splan ted.

8 Whe re direc t s own, a fine , ev en s eed bed is es sen ti al f or best results . 2) A 3 year rotation i s r ec ommen ded. 3) Weed c on tr ol is vita l, e spec ial ly i n ear ly growth stages . Chemical s are available, but con tr ol by hand may be neces sar y un til pl an ts are bi g en ough t o allow use of c hemical s. 4) Storage of mature bul bs is po ssibl e. Only c lean, mature, unda mag ed bul bs sho uld be us ed. The l on ger maturing varieti es are bett er suite d to t his purpo se.

9 Bul bs sho uld be dr y be fore storage and t here sho uld be free f low of a ir th rou gh th e s tacks o f s tored bul bs . 4 HARVESTING AND MARKETING Onc e t he Onion s h av e fal len t hey are lifted a nd lef t to dr y i n wi nd rows or heap s u nti l c ured. The curing proc es s al lows f or dev elopmen t o f s cal e l eaf c ol ou r a nd f irming of th e bu lbs. The bulbs are then ei the r c lea ned b y ha nd or mac hi ne and s ized, sorted, g rade d, a nd pac ked Most o nion s are mar keted i n 7 or 10 Kg ba gs th rou gh mun icipal mar kets.

10 A med ium s ized bul b i s p ref erred but there is al so de man d for smal ler and larger bulb sizes . The l argest deman d i n South Africa i s f or yellow or brown onions but there i s a smal l mar ket for red and pink v arieti es.