Onion industry: technology interventions
1992
Bautista, O.K. (Philippines Univ. Los Banos, College, Laguna (Philippines). Dept. of Horticulture)
Four technologies are examined: use of maleic hydrazide curing by mechanical means, high temperature storage and use of fantainers. Maleic hydrazide was first experimented on in 1956 in the Philippines, introduced commercially in 1990, and now there are about 40 ha of onions sprayed with maleic hydrazide. Full benefit of the technology could not be realized due to poor quality bulbs stored. Survey of quality stored by farmers showed that where disease was prevalent in the field, quality deterioration was fast, even where bulbs are selected before storage. Curing by forced heated air in curing sheds was shown to be only as good as air drying, and most beneficial when harvesting during the start of the rainy season. High temperature storage using ambient air is effective but there is a need to bring down the relative humidity during the rainy season and control diseases during production. The use of fantainers, which are general purpose shipping containers with ventilation, is worth looking into for long-distance shipment of onions, following the examples of Australia and New Zealand
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