The Onion

About this book

The name “Onion” originated from the Latin name Unio, meaning oneness or unity, or a kind of single onion. A native of Central Asia, onion is now grown in more than 140 countries under temperate to tropical conditions. In India, onions have been adapted from very early times, before the Christian era. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are the main onion-growing states in the country. Barring the north-eastern states and Kerala, basically all states grow onion. A crop of high culinary importance in daily diet, it creates ripples in political circles when consumers face shortage of onion and market price go high.

The Onion covers all aspects of the crop from its origin to marketing. In its eighteen chapters written by experts in the respective fields of the onion, this monograph reviews the status and prospects of onion research and development. It covers genetic resources, genetics, biotechnology, breeding, crop production, crop protection, seed production, physiology, biochemistry, processing and storage as well as price volatility aspects of onion. Each chapter presents complete information, from historical perspectives to current affairs, supported by data, illustrations and references.

Contents

Foreword
Preface

1. Origin, history and distribution/K.E. Lawande
2. Onion R & D in India-status and prospects/J. Gopal and A.A. Murkute
3. Biosystematics, botany and genetic resources/Vijay Mahajan, K.S. Negi and A.J. Gupta
4. Genetics and breeding of open-pollinated varieties/E. Sreenivasa Rao, Vijay Mahajan and C.S. Pathak
5. Breeding for hybrid technology/Amar Jeet Gupta, R. Veere Gowda and Vijay Mahajan
6. Aggregatum onion and Shallots/P. Paramaguru, M. Velmurugan and L. Pugalendhi
7. Biotechnology/D.C. Lakshmana Reddy, S. Anandhan and C. Aswath
8. Production technology/V. Sankar, P.C. Tripathi, K.E. Lawande and A.N. Ganeshamurthi
9. Nutrient management/R. Palaniappan and A. Thangasamy
10. Seed production/R.P. Gupta and H.P. Sharma
11. Onion seed industry and trade/Suresh O. Agrawal
12. Fungal diseases/S.J. Gawande
13. Viral viruses/K.S. Ravi, Muktha Raghuram and Mahesh Shekar
14. Insect and nematode pests/P.S. Srinivas and N.K. Krishna Kumar
15. Post harvest management and processing/A.A. Murkute and Kalyani Gorrepati
16. Biochemistry and nutraceutical properties/Shamina Azeez and K.S. Shivashankara
17. Marketing and export/T.M. Gajanana and D. Sreenivasa Murthy
18. Onion production and price volatility: implications for technology and policy/Ramesh Chand, Raka Saxena and Sanjay Chayal

Subject Index

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