Local onion variety for the sandy belts

By Our Agriculture Correspondent

A PROMISING local variety of onion with unique flavour and taste is being cultivated by the farmers of Nanamedu village and its adjoining villages near Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. ``It is a juicy onion variety, larger than the local 'sambar onion', and being a salt- tolerant type it is ideally suited for the sandy coastal belts,'' says Mr. R. Thirunarayanan, a progressive farmer of Nanamedu village, 4 km away from Cuddalore.This onion variety,unique to the region, has been traditionally cultivated in the region for several centuries, and it is an important commercial crop for the farmers here. It requires special care, and is cultivated in small pockets scattered all over the village.

``This variety is propagated through seeds. The small, black and flaky seeds are raised in nursery beds in September-October. The seedlings are planted in the main fields at an espacement of 10 cm by 10 cm, when they are four months old.The field should be thoroughly worked and free of weeds. Liberal quantities of farmyard manure and small quantities of di- ammonium phosphate should be added as basal dressing,'' explains Mr. Thirunarayanan.

To cover a hectare of field about 4.5 kg seeds will be needed, and the seeds will be sown over an area of about 5 cents. However, this variety is grown only in small fields of less than 0.2 hectares. It is a labour-intensive crop, and requires frequent irrigation. The crop is highly sensitive to competition from weeds, and regular manual weeding using a indigenously devised hoe-like tool has to be done. As many as seven rounds of weeding is done during the six month crop in the mainfield, according to him.

The crop will be harvested in April-May,and about 7 tonnes of bulbs can be got from 0.4 hectares. The cost of cultivation for the same will vary from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000. The onion fetches a premium price in the market, and it is also being exported to Sri Lanka, Singapore and the Gulf countries, says Mr. Thirunarayanan. For seed production, the bulbs should be selected kept for a few months in storage. These bulbs willbe planted in December in the fields, and the crop should be allowed to mature in the field for about months. The crop will put out inflorescence, and set seeds.

The seedheads will be harvested carefully, dried and winnowedand stored for use in the following season. The seed crop will not produce much bulbs. From about 5 cents approximately 8 kg of seeds can be harvested.

The cost of the seed varies from season to season as influenced by the market demand, according to this farmer. The regular crop will not have much of flowering, and whatever flower appears will be harvested and sold in the market.

``This onion has been a lucrative crop for us here. But now, its area in our village is shrinking because of sea-water incursion. Our wells yield only salt water, which is too much for this onion to thrive,'' he explains.

The price of this tasty onion ranges between Rs.5 to Rs. 6 during the peak season, according to him.

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