Onion yield to be raised 66%

The National Horticulture Research & Development Foundation (NHRDF) is conducting research to increase onion productivity by around 66 per cent to 25 tonnes an acre from the current 14 tonnes.

India, the second-largest onion producer in the world after China, produces 66 lakh mt of onion per annum (including all three crops - kharif, rangada and rabi), while China produces 110 lakh mt.

The share of Maharashtra in the production of onion is around 31.82 per cent. Onion productivity is around 16 tonnes an acre in Maharashtra and 14 tonnes in the rest of the country.

India, which produced 26 lakh mt in 1978-79 from around 2.5 lakh hectares, now has 4.8 lakh hectares under the crop and produces 67 lakh mt annually.

Speaking to Business Standard, Dr Satish Bhonde, additional director, NHRDF, said, "We are doing research to increase onion productivity. We can definitely increase productivity to 25 tonnes per acre from the current 14 tonnes by improving the irrigation system, reducing chemical fertilisers, giving crop protection and by avoiding post-harvest losses."

"Diseases and pests/insects cause around 25 per cent loss to the onion crop. We can increase production to 80 lakh tonnes if we can avoid such losses," he added.

"Today, onion has become soft due to the maximum use of chemical fertilisers. As a result, it gets spoiled fast due to pressure during storage. Hence, it is necessary to avoid chemical fertilisers and use organic fertilisers," Bhonde said.

The layer of storage, which is generally six ft, must not be more than three ft. This will help to reduce the proportion of spoiled onion."

Around 17.07 per cent of the country's total onion production is exported to countries such as Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Maharashtra has a share of 70 per cent in the country's exports. Onion exports of the country, which stood at 4.5 lakh tonnes 10 years ago, is now around 12 lakh mt.