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It is rare for anyone to name onions as their favorite food. But unlike tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, it is present on our table all year round. Along with potatoes, onions can be called one of the most commonly eaten vegetables. It is rare that any of the first or second courses will do without it, and if you add sauces, pastries, preservation, various seasonings, fresh consumption, onions can be called a universal food plant.
Onion has been known in culture for more than 5 thousand years, it is widely used in official and folk medicine, it is rich in vitamins, sugars, microelements, and other useful substances with zero calorie content. This culture came to us from Asia and today it grows both in the southernmost regions of Our Country, and in the northwest, the Far East, and some species (for example, chives) even beyond the Arctic Circle. It is not difficult to grow it, it is much more difficult to protect the future crop from all kinds of diseases and pests. Various agrotechnical measures can help here, in particular, onion processing before planting with potassium permanganate.
Overview
There are more than a thousand types of onions, many of which can be eaten. Undoubtedly, the most popular and common is onion, but other types often grow in our gardens: leek, chives, batun, slime, shallot, dzhusai, wild garlic, garlic (this is also a type of onion).
Of greatest interest to us is the cultivation of onions – it is he who is invariably present in our diet and is grown everywhere. There are many varieties that differ in ripening time, the number and size of bulbs in the nest, and taste. For each climatic zone, its own varieties and hybrids have been bred, there are even local varieties of onions intended for cultivation in a particular region.
Onions are grown in a two-year and one-year culture:
- most varieties require first growing seedlings (small onions with a diameter of about 1-2 cm) from seeds, when planted, they receive a full-fledged product;
- some varieties make it possible to obtain a marketable bulb in one year – directly from the nigella (seeds).
The vast majority of summer residents grow onions by planting seedlings in the ground – this process is so simple that even a novice gardener, unburdened with even basic knowledge of agricultural technology, can do it. What does an onion need? Fertile soil, well-lit place and no watering or rain at the time of ripening.
Onion pests and diseases
Unfortunately, on the way to obtaining marketable products, many diseases and pests of onions lie in wait for us – without treatments, some of them do not allow it to be stored for a long time, while others can significantly reduce or even destroy the crop.
When growing onions, the most common problems are:
- arming, which is not a disease, but a natural phase of development;
- onion flies they hit onions twice a season, are the most dangerous and are especially active in rainy summers;
- secretive proboscis beetle, which lays larvae inside the feather;
- nematodesliving in the soil and deforming onion leaves;
- Downy mildew – a disease manifested by grayish plaques on feathers;
- rust – a problem that is relevant for the southern regions and looks like yellow strokes on the leaves;
- neck rot occurs in rainy summer and does not allow long storage of onions;
- white bulb rot – a disease that develops in a hot summer and has no cure;
- rot of the bottom provokes an onion fly in the southern regions;
- viral diseases, not subject to treatment and requiring the immediate destruction of the plant.
Treating the seeds and sowing before planting in the spring will help you avoid most of the problems.
Why process onions
Many gardeners plant onions in the ground without any processing, and they get a good harvest. The question arises, why waste energy, time, money, since it will grow anyway? If the plot is large, the crop rotation is observed, the harvest is satisfactory, and you have grown the seedlings from the seeds yourself and are confident in its quality, you can not do preplant preparation.
But a pre-treated onion will give a greater yield, spending time preparing it in the spring, in the summer you will break arrows less often, fight pests and diseases. We cannot predict the weather conditions, even an ideal set in rainy weather can get sick, and pests will move from neighboring beds.
If you are not sure about the planting material, there is no way to observe crop rotation, and you want to get a good harvest, it is necessary to treat onions from diseases before planting.
Watch an interesting video in which you will learn about some of the ways to prepare the bow for planting:
Preplant processing of onions
There are many methods for processing onions, and most of them give good results. But there is not one magic remedy that would help from shooting, all diseases and all pests at once. In general, there are no remedies for viral diseases and white rot, the only way to protect the future harvest from them is to plant high-quality seedlings in healthy soil, from the moment of planting, adhere to the correct agricultural technology, which, by the way, includes onion processing before planting.
Trading networks offer many drugs that can protect the crop from most diseases, everyone decides for himself whether it is worth using them or you can get by with folk remedies. An experienced sales assistant will not only help you choose the right chemical, but also give advice on its use if necessary.
Preparation for onion processing
Before treating onions for diseases, sort and sort them. Even if all of it goes to the turnip (small, up to 1 cm sevok can be planted on greens, and the largest one can be used to get nigella), different-sized bulbs should be planted separately – this will facilitate subsequent care. Throw out all dry, rotten, diseased and damaged root crops without regret.
It is necessary to clean the sevok from the upper scales, which are easily removed and under which pathogens often live, it is impossible to peel off the husk by force. It is often advised to cut off the top of the bulb (not the bottom on which the roots grow!) so that the greens germinate faster. It should be noted that this is not at all necessary and takes a lot of time. But if you still decide on this procedure, remember that you should cut the top “to live” only if you grow onions on a feather. In a set intended for a turnip, the dry twisted top is simply removed, leaving the covering scales – exposing the neck increases the risk of onion infection.
How to reduce shooting
We will not analyze in detail why the sevok goes to the arrow. Suffice it to say that this is not a disease, but a natural process, the way onions form seeds. If you grow sevok on your own and you need to get a nigella, you will plant seed onions separately and do not process them from shooting.
But if all the planting material is intended to produce a turnip, it needs to be warmed up. The ideal option is to keep the bulbs at a temperature of 2-3 degrees for 35-40 weeks before planting. They are laid out in a thin layer on old newspapers or cardboard and kept next to heating appliances or on batteries.
If there is a lot of sevka or for some reason you did not warm it up, and the planting time is approaching, you can soak the onion for 10-15 minutes in hot water (45-50 degrees), and then immediately cool it by placing it in cold water.
Protection against pests and diseases
The gardeners face the question of how to treat onions for diseases, not from a lack of drugs, but from their excess. We will try to draw your attention to simple and effective means.
- The easiest way to destroy pests on a set is to put it in a plastic bag, spray it with karbofos and tie it up. In a day it will be possible to treat onions from diseases. But in a city apartment, this should not be done, since the drug is very toxic. Consider several times whether it is worth using it to process onions.
- A saline solution will perfectly help from a nematode, sometimes it is advised to use it simply in a monstrous concentration. One tablespoon of salt dissolved in a liter of warm water is a sufficient proportion to soak the sevka. Processing takes 6-8 hours. It is often advised to treat onion plantings with saline. Perhaps he will help from many problems, but at the same time spoil your soil for years.
- A tablespoon of birch tar per liter of water will help to cope with pathogens, infections, and can also scare away the onion fly during the first summer.
- Potassium permanganate will help to destroy pathogens. We prepare a rich pink solution, immerse the sevok in it, process for 10-15 minutes, and then be sure to rinse with clean water.
- Treatment with copper-containing preparations will perfectly protect the seedlings from diseases. There are a lot of them on sale, they use everything according to the instructions, it makes no sense to advise any particular one.
- Phytosporin treatment protects onions from diseases and bacteria. If you are not yet familiar with this unique drug, we suggest watching the video:“Fitosporin-M” Paste – application
- The treatment of sevka from diseases with soda showed low efficiency, it is better to use something else.
When starting to process sevka, you need to remember:
- The above treatments are not carried out in advance, but immediately before planting onions.
- You can kill pathogens and pest larvae on the set, but this does not guarantee that the bulbs will not become infected later, and the pests will not move from another place or simply will not fly in like an onion fly.
- Appropriate fungicides can be of great help against diseases.
Stimulation
In order for the sevok to take root faster, sprout earlier, better resist diseases, form a large turnip, it must be treated with humate or any fertilizer intended for this before planting. It is very good if you add epin or zircon to the solution – fertilizer and stimulant can be combined.
Conclusion
As we have already said, the processing of onions before planting from pests and diseases is a desirable procedure, but if crop rotation is observed, it is optional. But we still advise you to choose drugs from the specified list and soak the sevok in them. Believe me, the results will please you.