My kharif onion has many split double bulbs and some plants flowered early. What causes this and how do I cut it down?
How to reduce onion (pyaaz) doubles and bolting from a kharif nursery in Karnataka?
BBasavaraj Patil9mo ago · 334 views
3 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓9mo ago
Doubles and bolting both reduce your marketable, single centred bulbs. Doubles are mainly caused by water stress and irregular irrigation during bulb formation, by wide spacing, and by very old or overgrown seedlings, so transplant seedlings at the right age, keep spacing close at about 10 by 15 cm, and irrigate evenly without letting the crop dry out and then flooding it. Bolting, where plants throw up a flower stalk early, is triggered by exposure of large seedlings to cool spells, by sowing too early, and by old transplants. Use fresh, good quality seed of the correct season variety, do not let the nursery get too old before transplanting, and follow the recommended sowing window for your area. Check the exact dates and variety with your KVK as they are tuned for local weather.
SShankaragouda Patil9mo ago
For me the single biggest fix for doubles was steady irrigation. Once I moved to a fixed watering interval instead of long gaps followed by heavy flooding, the splitting dropped sharply. The wet dry swing during bulbing was clearly causing it.
MMallappa Hosamani9mo ago
I noticed bolting was worst when I transplanted overgrown seedlings into a cool spell. Now I am strict about transplanting at the right age and not holding the nursery too long. Old, thick seedlings going into cool weather seem to flower the most.