The botanical name of Bellary onion is Allium cepa var. cepa; Alliaceae
Varieties: Bellary Red, Pusa Red, NP 53, Arka Niketan, Arka Kalyan, Agri Found Light Red and Agri Found Dark Red, Rose onion (small)
Soil: Red loam to black soils with good drainage facilities. The optimum pH would be 5.8-6.5.
Mild season is preferred.
Season: May – June.
Seed rate and Sowing: 10 kg/ha. Treat the seeds with Azospirillum @ 400 g/kg of seed using rice gruel as adhesive, dry under shade for 30 minutes and sow them. Apply VAM 1 kg/sq. m in the beds along with FYM 10 kg/sq.m before sowing.
Preparation of main field: Plough the land to get a fine tilth and incorporate 25 t/ha of FYM at the time of last ploughing. Form ridges and furrows at 45 cm spacing. Plant 45 days old seedlings at 10 cm apart on both the sides of the ridges.
Irrigation: After establishment irrigate at weekly intervals.
Application of fertilizers: Apply FYM 25 t/ha, Azospirillum 2 kg and Phosphobacteria 2 kg/ha, N 50 kg, P 150 kg and K 75 kg/ha as basal dose and N 50 kg/ha as Top-dress 30 days after planting. Apply Zinc sulphate as basal dose @ 50 kg/ha at the time of last ploughing.
Plant protection against Pests
Thrips and onion fly: Methyl demeton 25 EC 1 ml/lit or dimethoate 30 EC 1 ml/lit or
monocrotophos 30 WSC 1 ml/lit with Teepol 0.5 ml/lit.
Cutworm: Drench the soil with chlorpyriphos @ 2 ml/lit.
Nematode: Application of Carbofuran 3 G 1 kg a.i./ha or phorate 10 G 1 kg a.i./ha at 10 days after transplanting.
Protection against Disease
Leaf spot: Spray Mancozeb 2 g/lit or Copper oxychloride 2 g/lit. Add 1 ml of Teepol to 1 lit spray fluid.
Yield: 15 – 18 t/ha in 140 – 150 days.
