Studies show that nitrogen has a positive effect on onion skin quality by increasing the specific weight of the outer skin. This is a very important factor for storage.
Improving onion skin appearance and condition
A uniform skin is a major element of onion appearance for the fresh market. In addition, the strength of the onion skin is important to help keep diseases and storage problems away. Skin cracking can be a result of poor soil moisture. A balanced nutrition program is also essential to ensure that the overall skin quality of an onion crop meets market demands.
Crop Nutrition and Onion Skin Appearance and Strength
Nitrogen
Calcium Nitrate and Quercetine Content
Research shows that good nutrition with calcium nitrate will also increase quercetine concentrations within onion bulbs. Quercetine is a yellow pigment that improves the color intensity of the skin and the storage properties of the onion. It is an antioxidant and helps improve human health through decreasing cholesterol levels, controlling blood pressure and increasing tolerance to certain allergens. Calcium deficiency leads to onion bulbs with low density and reduced quality, and with softer skins.
It is an antioxidant and helps improving human health through decreasing cholesterol levels, controlling blood pressure and increasing tolerance to certain allergies. Calcium deficiency lead to onion bulbs with of low density and reduced quality, and have softer skins.
Copper and Skin Color
Adequate supplies of copper are important for bulb skin and onion scale development, as a result of the element’s role in lignin production. Trials show that copper can enhance skin colour.
Related articles
Increasing bulb weight
A balanced crop nutrition program can help to improve overall yield by increasing onion bulb weight.
Avoiding chilling injury
Onions thrive best when temperatures are cool during early development and then warmer and sunny during maturity.
Nutritional programs containing soluble calcium can help to protect crops against chilling injury, which can lead to cell breakdown.
Influencing onion bulb number
The number of onions produced can be influenced by a variety of factors, for example, plant density. Planting crops at higher densities can result in greater numbers of onion bulbs, but of smaller size. Thus, it is important to manipulate sowing density...
