It is believed that onions are easy to grow. Perhaps, only those who did not think so. A gardener has a lot of problems, and if they are not solved, the onion can rot in the garden already. Or then, in storage. It is important to know these pitfalls and be able to get around them.
Causes of rotting onions in the garden
To grow a healthy and good onion, you must clearly follow all the rules of agricultural technology: water, but not too much, feed, but in moderation, carry out preventive measures, provide illumination, observe crop rotation, etc. The reasons that the onion began to rot directly on the garden bed, lots of.
Diseases or pests
Onions have a lot of pests, and there are many diseases. True, not all of them lead to rotting of the pen, and even more so of the bulbs, but there are some. If the cultivation technology is followed, the probability of their appearance is small, but weakened plants become ill or are affected by pests easily.
Onion bacteriosis
Bacteriosis does not appear immediately, its effect is usually noticeable at the end of the growing season. Signs are mucous to the touch, softened areas of gray-brown color on the bulbs. First, some scales decay, they are interspersed with healthy ones, but then the whole bulb decays and exudes a fetid smell. Excessive soil moisture contributes to infection with bacteriosis, therefore, in irrigation, you always need to know the measure.
With bacteriosis, decay can begin from any scale, but then everything will be covered
White rot
This fungal disease is initially manifested by yellowing of leaves, which will soon fade. Then, a cotton-like white mycelium with small black dots forms on the bottom of the bulbs. It quickly spreads to onion flakes: first to the outer ones, then deeper and deeper. With severe damage, the bulb rots completely. The emergence of the disease contributes to excessive humidity in conjunction with cold weather and other flaws in the care of onions.
Fusarium rot
Fusarium is manifested by yellowing and deformation of the leaves, which gradually fade and dry. Plants weaken, the root system rots. Rot then passes on to the bulbs. Fusarium often appears in humid hot weather, and contributes to the infection of the onion fly. Sowing before sowing significantly reduces the risk of disease.
Powdery mildew
The disease begins with chlorosis of the leaves: they turn yellow and deformed. Then they are covered with a thick coating that looks like bright spots in dry weather or grayish-purple in wet. After the leaves, it is time for decay and bulbs, then the roots. Like white rot, powdery mildew often appears in cold, wet weather, especially when overfeeding with nitrogen fertilizers.
The signs of powdery mildew are similar to those on other plants.
Onion fly
Of the pests, the effect of which is already evident in the garden, the onion fly is the most dangerous. The fly itself is almost harmless, its larvae eat onions. They perforate both leaves and bulbs, feeding on the flesh of plants, because of this the bulbs rot. It is easy to detect larvae: both they and eggs laid by a fly are clearly visible. Carrots planted next to onions reliably drive the fly away. Pollution of beds of tobacco dust or the use of insecticides can help with infection.
Outwardly, an onion fly looks like a regular, home fly.
Onion grouse (root eater)
The creeper is similar to an onion fly, but has larger sizes. It causes maximum harm closer to the beginning of July. Her larvae eat up the bulb, climbing into it, which causes decay. Crops of carrots also drive this pest away from the onion beds. The control of already appeared larvae is complex and requires powerful insecticides.
Video: onion diseases
Waterlogging soil
A short list of diseases indicates that most of them contribute to excessive watering or rainy weather. Overmoistening of the garden can lead to rotting of the onion in and of itself, without the "help" of pathogens. Onions require moist soil, without watering you cannot get large bulbs, but here you need to know the measure. Perhaps this moment is the most difficult in growing onions. A moderately moist soil is required for this crop constantly, watering the beds is stopped only three to four weeks before harvesting.
When growing onions often arrange drip irrigation systems
Particularly dangerous overflow on clay soils, as well as where groundwater passes close. In such cases, you need to add sand to the bed and raise it. If the soil in the surface layer is even a little important, watering should not be done. Onions require a lot of moisture during the intensive growth of bulbs, but even at this time it is necessary to be careful so that if it rains for a long time, the garden bed may, on the contrary, be covered with a film from them.
Poor planting material
Both seeds (chernushka) and sevocs can be infected. In both cases, preplant preparation is necessary. It is especially important to sanitize your own seeds (most companies now approach the issue responsibly, and it’s less and less possible to buy infected seeds in the store). Seeds are disinfected by dressing in a dark solution of potassium permanganate for 20-30 minutes.
Similarly, you can process sevka, but more often it is simply kept in hot water: it is poured with water with a temperature of 65 aboutC and let cool. I must say, while not all pathogens are destroyed. It is better to use a solution of copper sulfate (a teaspoon is not a bucket of water), in which the seeds are bathed for 8-10 minutes. Naturally, before processing it must be carefully inspected and discarded damaged copies.
Contaminated soil
The causative agents of diseases can be not only in the planting material, but also in the soil, therefore, before planting onions, in 1-2 days, the bed is usually disinfected, spilling it with boiling water or a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate.
In addition to the presence of pathogenic bacteria in the soil, too high acidity can contribute to the decay of onions; therefore, on acidic soils they should be neutralized with ash or chalk in advance.
Crop rotation violation
Crop rotation exists, in particular, so that diseases and pests do not accumulate in the garden. Onions should not be planted in one place for several years in a row. It is best to plant it after potatoes, cucumbers or peas. You can not plant onions after any related crops, for example, garlic. The break should be 3-4 years.
When planning landings, it’s worth looking into the directories
Excess nitrogen
Onions grow well only in fertile soil, seasoned with organic matter and mineral fertilizers. At the very beginning of growth, it consumes a lot of nitrogen, but in the process of maturation, this element is practically not required. Excess nitrogen, especially in nitrate form, causes plants to rot. In no case should you use fresh or poorly rotted manure for onions: only humus or compost, without excess. They have less nitrogen than in fresh manure, and it is consumed onion gradually.
Causes of rotting onions during storage
Even well-selected and dried onions can partially rot during storage: not all damage can be visually noticeable, and there are many reasons for rotting.
Storage time
Not every onion variety is capable of long-term storage. As a rule, salad varieties, especially early ripe ones, are stored for only 2-3 months. Yellow onion is generally stored better than white or red. Onions grown from sevka are slightly better stored than those grown for one season from nigella. Therefore, onion rotting can be blamed simply exceeding the permissible shelf life.
Video: Onion Harvesting Tips
Storage conditions
Onions are poorly stored in high humidity, as well as in a bright room. In this case, it sprouts and decays. Quickly rots and onions, which are frozen even for a short time. There are two completely opposite modes of onion storage: at a temperature close to 0 aboutC, and, conversely, warm, about 18 aboutC. Humidity above 80% is unacceptable.
I myself keep the onions right in the apartment, under the table, in cardboard boxes. If it is carefully sorted and dried, there is practically no waste.
It is bad if other vegetables are stored nearby. Potatoes or cabbage contribute to the decay of onions.
Mechanical damage
Bulkheading of the onion before storing it for storage should be thorough: any damage to the onion during harvesting (cuts, dents, breakage of the neck) will lead to rapid decay. Such a bow should be used first. A bow dug using a shovel or pitchfork is better stored than a hand pulled out of the ground. Foliage should also be preserved and picked only after the onion has dried, two weeks after harvesting.
Gray rot of the neck
A number of onion diseases occur only during storage. Most often, neck rot occurs. Usually already in the first month the infected bulbs manifest themselves, therefore, at first, the stored onions should be checked often. With this disease, the outer scales in the neck area shrink, and a grayish coating with black spots forms under them. Rot quickly drops down, covering the entire bulb. The causative agent of this disease is in plant debris or in the soil, it must be disinfected. Sick bulbs are urgently removed from storage.
Cervical rot rarely manages to appear on the bed, but when placed in storage it can be noticeable already in the first month
Onion tick
Onion mite is one of the pests, the effect of which in the process of growing onions is usually not yet noticeable. It is very small, translucent, active in hot, dry weather. It penetrates into the bulbs through the bottom, nibbles them from the inside. They rot, and dry up outside. The tick can be eliminated in the garden only with acaricides, but the trouble is that it is difficult to notice. If there is doubt about the purity of the seed, it is treated with colloidal sulfur preparations before disembarkation.
A tick can only be seen with magnification, but with mass distribution it can be seen on the bow in the form of numerous bright points
Stem nematode
Nematodes are tiny white worms whose action is already noticeable in the garden, but it happens that it appears only during storage. At the same time, the onion flakes moisten, become soft and rot. The process begins, starting from the neck: after all, at first the stem nematode eats onion leaves. To destroy nematodes is very difficult: the soil is repeatedly etched, and then kept in quarantine. Therefore, preventive measures are important: proper crop rotation, thorough cleaning on the beds, seed dressing.
How to prevent rot
The measures that are needed to prevent onion rotting follow from the described causes of the phenomenon. Prevention is as follows:
- correct crop rotation;
- selection of disease resistant varieties;
- preplant preparation of seeds and seeds;
- moderate watering and proper feeding;
- weed control;
- sowing carrots next to onions.
It is important to harvest the crop on time and thoroughly dry the onions before storing. The temperature and humidity conditions should be strictly observed in the storage, at least once a month to sort the onions (and at first - and more often), rejecting suspicious specimens. Only bulbs with dry and thin necks should be stored, without the slightest damage.
After harvesting, dry the onions in a ventilated area for at least two weeks.
What if the onion has already begun to rot?
If onion decay becomes noticeable already on the bed, rotting plants should be dug up immediately, and the soil under them should be watered with 1% solution of copper sulfate. In some cases, when the rotting is small, only from the surface, part of the bulb can still be used, but not fresh.
It’s better not to risk it and destroy rotten specimens.
Timely removal of rotting bulbs will help save the remaining crop, but it is important to determine the cause of the rot and take action if possible. If it is a fungal disease, it is possible that the bed should be treated with a Bordeaux mixture (only after that you can not use a feather for food for a long time). If the cause of rotting became flaws in agricultural technology, try to reduce the amount of watering or often loosen the garden bed. If pests - apply folk remedies or insecticides.
Video: how to process onions in the garden
Onions, rotten during storage, are immediately removed from it and delivered with onions, depending on how far the process has gone. If raw bulbs are found during the bulkhead, but without signs of rot, they must be dried and stored separately from quality bulbs. Partially rotten bulbs can be cut, and the rest cut, then dry or freeze.
Rotting onions is an unpleasant process, but it can be prevented by observing agricultural techniques, and during storage by the right choice of conditions. It is important to pay more attention to the bow both in the garden and in the storage.
