General
Requirements
·
Onion requires cool conditions during vegetative growth
and hot, dry conditions nearing maturity, in early summer. Optimum temperatures
for growth are 12ºC to 24ºC, with minimum temperatures of 7ºC and maximum 29ºC.
·
Popular Onion varieties are Texas Grano, Red creole and
Caledon Globe.
·
A well-managed Onion crop should yield 750 to 1000 x
10kg pockets/ Lima.
Land
Preparation/ Soil Type
·
Deep well-drained Sandy to loamy soils with a pH range
from 5 to 6.5 is ideal for Onion.
·
Effective rooting depth is 20cm.
·
Plough and disc to 45 to 60cm depth of fine tilth
seedbed.
Planting and
Transplanting
·
Sow directly by drilling in farrows 5mm deep or raise
seedlings in nursery beds and transplant 4 to 5 weeks later. Ideal sowing time
is February to June.
·
Transplant during the cool part of the day (early
morning or late afternoon) to avoid wilting of the plants.
·
Space the plants at 5cm between plants and 20cm between
rows (x 5 rows) followed by 100cm of walking space every after 5 rows to give a
plant population of 500, 000 plants /ha.
Fertilizer
Programme
·
At planting apply Veg Mix C 80gm/m2 -
Broadcast.
·
21 days after germination top dress using Veg Top 24
20-30gm/m2 (50 kg/Lima) - Broadcast.
·
35 days after germination top dress using Veg Top 24
20-30gm/m2 (50 kg/Lima) - Broadcast.
·
49 days after germination top dress using Veg Top 24
20-30gm/m2 (50 kg/Lima) - Broadcast.
·
63 days after germination top dress using Veg Top 24
20-30gm/m2 (50 kg/Lima) - Broadcast.
Management
Practices
·
Weeds compete with
plants for nutrients and space; they can reduce yields by more than 25%. Keep
the field free from weeds at all times.
·
Ensure the soil maintains a constant moisture level
especially during vegetative development stage.
·
Scout the field for
pest and diseases once weekly, spray if a disease or insect pest is noticed.
Leaf miner and Grass hoppers are common onion insect pests while Purple blotch
and Downy mildew are common onion diseases.
·
Stop irrigating when the bulbs reach maturity to harden
and dry them in readiness for harvest.
This is where we will be ending our discussion for today. Remember to share your comments views and opinions.
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