ONIONS
India is the second-largest onion-growing country in the world. The Indian onions are famous for their pungency and are available round the year.
Indian onions have two crop cycles, first harvesting starts from November to January and the second harvesting from January to May.
Varieties
The major varieties found in India are Agrifound Dark Red, Agrifound Light Red, NHRDF Red, Agrifound White, Agrifound Rose and Agrifound Red, Pusa Ratnar, Pusa Red, and Pusa White Round. There are certain varieties of yellow onion which are suitable for export in European countries Tana F1, Arad-H, Suprex, Granex 55, HA 60 and Granex 429.
Areas of Cultivation
The Major Onion producing states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Telangana. Maharashtra ranks first in Onion production with a share of 39% followed by Madhya Pradesh with a share of 17% in 2020-21.
India Facts and Figures
There is a lot of demand for Indian Onion in the world, the country has exported 1,537,496.89 MT of fresh onion to the world for the worth Rs. 3,432.14 crores/ 460.52 USD Millions during the year 2021-22.
Modern packhouses for sorting, grading and packing the quality onions are available at production zones. Guidelines have been framed to determine the compliance with maximum residue levels (MRLs) for the identified pesticides. Grade designation and quality development parameters have been set up.
Major Export Destinations (2021-22)
Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, United Arab EMTs, Nepal and Indonesia.
Table Shows the varietal characteristics of commercially grown Onions
Variety | Characteristics |
|---|---|
Agrifound | The crop is global round in shape, big in size and dark red in colour.T.S.S. is 12- |
Dark Red | 13 brix and storage quality is medium. |
Agrifound | The crop is global round in shape, big in size and light red in colour.T.S.S. is 13- |
Light Red | 14 brix and storage quality is good. |
Agrifound | The crop is flattish round in shape, 2.5-3.5 cm in size and scarlet red in |
Rose | colour.T.S.S. is 16-18 brix and storage quality is good. |
Agrifound | The crop is 5-6 bulblets clump in shape, 2-2.5 cm in size and brick red in |
Red | colour.T.S.S. is 9-10 brix and storage quality is good. |
Pusa Red | The crop is flattish round in shape and red in colour.Storage quality is very good. |