After 3 months in my chawl the onions start sprouting from the top and growing roots from the bottom. How can I slow this down?
Why do my stored onions (pyaaz) sprout and grow roots, and how to reduce it?
GGanesh Pawar6mo ago · 309 views
6 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓6mo ago
Sprouting and rooting in storage usually trace back to field practices and the store conditions. Excess nitrogen late in the crop and irrigation right up to harvest both push sprouting, so stop nitrogen early and cut off water 10 to 15 days before harvest. Store only well cured, tight necked, single centred bulbs of a good storage variety like a dark red rabi type. Keep the chawl dry and well ventilated with cross air flow, avoid moisture and avoid stacking too deep. High humidity and warmth trigger both sprouting and root growth, so a cool, dry, airy store is key. A maleic hydrazide spray on the standing crop before harvest is sometimes used to suppress sprouting, but use it strictly per label and KVK advice as timing is critical and wrong use damages storage.
SSopan Gholap5mo ago
In my experience the variety matters more than people think. Kharif onions never lasted three months for me no matter how I stored them, they always sprouted and softened. Only my rabi dark red crop held well, so I now sell the kharif lot quickly and store only the rabi.
KKailas Tarte5mo ago
Watch where you keep the heap. The bulbs near a damp wall or in a corner with no air sprouted first for me while the middle of the airy stack stayed fine. Spacing the stack away from the walls and turning the lot once to remove sprouted and soft ones slowed the spread.
DDnyaneshwar Pawar5mo ago
A caution from my side, do not bank only on a sprout suppressant spray and ignore the store. I used the spray one year but kept the onions in a closed humid room and they still sprouted and rotted. The spray helps only if the curing and the airy store are right first.
AAnita Gholap5mo ago
Sorting the lot once a month and pulling out the sprouted and soft bulbs stopped it spreading for me. A few sprouting bulbs left in the heap seemed to push the ones next to them along. Removing them early kept the rest of the stack sound for longer.
RRavsaheb Tarte4mo ago
Stopping the late nitrogen made a real difference for me. The year I kept feeding urea close to harvest the bulbs sprouted fast in storage. Easing off the nitrogen early and cutting the water before harvest gave firmer bulbs that held much longer before sprouting.