FARMER'S NOTEBOOK
Proper big onion nursery management for good returns
M. J. PRABU
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Onion being a transplantable crop needs proper care at the nursery level
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— Photo: NHRDF
RIGHT METHOD: Sowing should be done in straight lines at a distance of 5-7 cm at 2 cm depth.
THOUGH BIG onion is cultivated throughout the country, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are the important big onion-producing states.
In Tamil Nadu the crop is cultivated during the early kharif season (February-March-April) in Coimbatore, Erode and Tirunelveli districts.
Nursery management
Success of big onion cultivation depends mainly on proper nursery management, according to Mr. A.B. Chougule, Joint Director, National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF), Dindigul, Tamil Nadu.
Though there are a number of big onion varieties being cultivated in Tamil Nadu, only Agri Found Dark Red and Arka Kalyan Dark varieties have been found suitable for the State, according to him.
Yield loss
Though farmers in the above regions follow conventional methods of onion cultivation (such as flat bed and broadcasting) for a long time they did not know that these practices may not always be successful and sometimes may even result in loss of quality and yield.
The loss of yield to a large extent is because of poor nursery management. Onion being a transplantable crop like most vegetables, needs proper care at the nursery level.
There are several factors that affect the growth of seedlings in the nursery such as bright sunlight, high temperature and unseasonal rainfall, according to Mr. Chougule.
If any of the above condition persists, then the seedling gets infested with damping off and tip burning infestations, which result in 60-70 per cent nursery mortality.
Poor seedling growth in the nursery leads to poor growth and quality of plants in the main field. "Farmers can get more returns if they pay more attention to nursery management, which increases the productivity and quality," said A.B. Chougule.
For preparing a nursery about one kg of seeds are required for sowing in an area of 100 sq. metres.
Infestation prevention
To prevent damping off and tip burning infestations, which are common in all onion crops, farmers are advised to mix about 150 kg of well-decomposed farmyard manure (FYM) along with15 gm of trichoderma viride and 4-5 gm of thiram or captan per sq. metre with the nursery soil and irrigate lightly.
Nursery bed treatment
Before sowing, the nursery bed should be treated with 2gm of thiram (per kg of seed) and covered with 250-gauge transparent polythene sheet for 10-15 days for soil solarisation.
Sowing should be done in straight lines at a distance of 5-7 cm at 2 cm depth.
After sowing, FYM or compost should be lightly sprinkled over the nursery beds and irrigated.
To maintain temperature and moisture the beds can be covered with dry straw or grass. The dry straw or grass should be removed as soon as the seeds germinate. Any delay in removal of the cover will result in poor seedlings growth, according to Mr. Chougule. It is also advisable for farmers to mix about 550 gm urea, 3 kg of single superphosphate and 400 gm of muriate of potash for 100 sq. mt to raise a healthy nursery.
The seedlings can be transplanted to the main field in 6 -7 weeks after sowing. Light irrigation must be done 2-3 days in advance, before uprooting the seedlings from the nursery so that while uprooting the roots will not be damaged and good root establishment takes place in the main field.
Uprooting the seedling
Spraying 1gm of carbendazim and monocratophos each along with sticker diluted in a litre of water should be done before uprooting the seedlings.
For more information readers can contact Mr. A.B. Chougule, Joint Director, National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation, 14-Q, Krishna Rao street, Pandiyan nagar, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu: 624 001, e-mail : dindigul@nhrdf.com, phone - 0451-2431967.
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