Bulb development in the onion (Allium cepa L.) and the effect of storage temperature on bulb rest

Abdalla, A; Mann, L

Bulb development in the onion (Allium cepa L.) and the effect of storage temperature on bulb rest

Authors

Abdalla A. Abdalla
Louis K. Mann

Authors Affiliations

Abdalla A. Abdalla was Lecturer, Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Sudan; Louis K. Mann was Professor of Vegetable Crops, Davis.

Publication Information

Hilgardia 35(5):85-112. DOI:10.3733/hilg.v35n05p085. October 1963.

PDF of full article, Cite this article

Abstract

Wherever bulb onions are grown, part of the crop is usually stored. Since the bulbs can be kept for weeks or months, successful storage helps determine their availability as food.

It has long been known that onions do not sprout readily soon after harvest, even if the bulbs are planted in moist soil. Such bulbs are said to be in rest. As storage is prolonged, the resting condition disappears and the bulbs sprout easily. Storage conditions, however, may prolong the period of rest and, more important, may retard sprouting and rooting long after rest is past.

In this study data are presented on the morphological changes related to rest as the latter is measured by sprout and root production. Bulb growth and development are described for field-grown plants, and changes in bulbs leading to rooting and sprouting are followed during curing and during storage at several temperatures. The capacity of bulbs to root and sprout was measured by removing samples from storage to conditions favorable to bulb growth. Cell divisions in the stem apex were observed during curing and under several storage conditions, to relate stem growth to sprouting. The findings are presented in relation to the practice and problems of onion bulb storage.

Literature Cited

Aoba T. On bulb formation and dormancy in onions. II. On process of bulb formation and development of scales. (In Japanese with English summary.). Jour. Hort. Assoc. Japan. 1954. 23:249-58.

Bonner J., Galston A. W. Principles of plant physiology. 1952. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman Co. 499p. DOI: 10.1097/00010694-195205000-00016 [CrossRef]

Boswell V. R. Influence of the time of maturity of onions upon the rest period, dormancy, and responses to various stimuli designed to break the rest period. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 1924. 20(1923):225-33.

Buvat R. Structure, évolution et fonctionnement du méristème apical de quelques dicotylédones. Ann. Sci. Nat., Botan. Ser. 11. 1952. 13:199-300.

Davidson T. M. W. Dormancy in the potato tuber and the effects of storage conditions on initial sprouting and on subsequent sprout growth. Am. Potato Jour. 1958. 35:451-65. DOI: 10.1007/BF02851270 [CrossRef]

Emilsson B. Studies on the rest period and dormant period in the potato tuber. Acta Agr. Suecana. 1949. 3(3):189-284.

Foster A. S. Problems of structure, growth and evolution in the shoot apex of seed plants. Botan. Rev. 1939. 5:454-70. DOI: 10.1007/BF02878705 [CrossRef]

Comparative studies on the structure of the shoot apex in seed plants. Bul. Torrey Botan. Club. 1941. 68:339-50. DOI: 10.2307/2481642 [CrossRef]

Gifford E. M. Jr. The shoot apex in angiosperms. Botan. Rev. 1954. 20:477-529. DOI: 10.1007/BF02957569 [CrossRef]

Haber A. H., Luippold H. J. Separation of mechanisms initiating cell division and cell expansion in lettuce seed germination. Plant Physiol. 1960. 35:168-73. DOI: 10.1104/pp.35.2.168 [CrossRef]

Hayward H. E. The structure of economic plants. 1938. New York: The Macmillan Company. 674p. DOI: 10.1097/00010694-193910000-00033 [CrossRef]

Heath O. V. S. Formative effects of environmental factors as exemplified in the development of the onion plant. Nature. 1945. 155:623-26. DOI: 10.1038/155623a0 [CrossRef]

Heath O.V.S., Holdsworth M. Morphogenic factors as exemplified by the onion plant. Soc. Exptl. Biol., Symp. II. Growth. 1948. New York: Academic Press. p. 326-50.

Heath O. V. S., Mathur P. B.

Studies in the physiology of the onion plant. II. Inflorescence initiation and development, and other changes in the internal morphology of onion sets, as influenced by temperature and day length. Ann. Appl. Biol. 1944. 31:173-86. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7348.1944.tb06724.x [CrossRef]

Hoffman C. A. Developmental morphology of Allium cepa. Botan. Gaz. 1933. 95:279-99.

Howard W. L. An experimental study of the rest period in plants. The winter rest. Missouri Agr. Exp. Sta. Res. Bul. 1910. 1:5-105.

Jacobs W. P., Marrow I. B. A quantitative study of mitotic figures in relation to development in the apical meristem of vegetative shoots of Coleus. Dev. Biol. 1961. 3:569-87.

Johansen D. A. Plant microtechnique. 1940. New York: McGraw-Hill. 523p.

Jones H. A. Preliminary report on onion dormancy studies. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 1921. 17(1920):128-33.

Jones H. A., Perry B. A., Davis G. N. The new Excel. Southern Seedsman. 1947. 10(3):13 57, 60 DOI: 10.1021/ie00080a024 [CrossRef]

Jones H. A., Perry B. A., Edmundson W. C. Vegetative propagation of short-day varieties of onions as an aid in a breeding program. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 1949. 53:367-70.

Kotowski F. Temperature relations to germination of vegetable seeds. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 1927. 23(1926):176-84.

Ledbetter M. C. Anatomical and morphological comparisons of normal and physiologically dwarfed seedlings of Rhodotypos tetrapetala and Prunus persica. Contrib. Boyce Thompson Inst. 1960. 20:437-58.

Loomis W. E., Evans M. M. Experiments in breaking the rest period of corms and bulbs. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 1929. 25(1928):73-79.

Magruder R., Wester R. E., Jones H. A., Randall T. E., Snyder G. B., Brown H. D., Hawthorn L. R. Storage quality of the principal American varieties of onions. U. S. Dept. Agr. Cir. 1941. 618:

Mann L. K., Lewis D. A. Rest and dormancy in garlic. Hilgardia. 1956. 26(3):161-89. DOI: 10.3733/hilg.v26n03p161 [CrossRef]

Mann L. K., Minges P. A. Growth and bulbing of garlic (Allium sativum L.) in response to storage temperature of planting stocks, day length, and planting date. Hilgardia. 1958. 27(15):385-419. DOI: 10.3733/hilg.v27n15p385 [CrossRef]

Meyer B. S., Anderson D. B. Plant physiology. 1952. 2nd ed. New York: D. Van Nostrand Company. 784p. DOI: 10.1097/00010694-193910000-00031 [CrossRef]

Miller E. C. Plant physiology. 1938. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1201p. DOI: 10.2307/1296918 [CrossRef]

Philipson W. R. The ontogeny of the shoot apex in dicotyledons. Biol. Rev. 1949. 24:21-50. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185X.1949.tb00569.x [CrossRef]

Pollock B. M., Olney H. O. Studies of the rest period. I. Growth, translocation, and respiratory changes in the embryonic organs of the after-ripening cherry seed. Plant Physiol. 1959. 34:131-42. DOI: 10.1104/pp.34.2.131 [CrossRef]

Porter D. R., Jones H. A., Davis G. N. Newly developed vegetable varieties for use in California. California Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 1941. p.646. https://archive.org/details/newlydevelopedve646port

Pratt H. K., Morris L. L. Some physiological aspects of vegetable and fruit handling. Food Tech. Australia. 1958. 10:407 409, 411, 413, 415, 417

Rauh W. Morphologie der Nutzpflanzen. 1950. Heidelberg: Quelle and Meyer. 390p.

Sachs J. Uber die Keimung des Saamens von Allium cepa. Botan. Zt. 1863. 21:57-62. 65-70

Sass J. E. Botanical microtechnique. 1951. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State College Press. 228p. DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.5706 [CrossRef]

Savelkoul R. M. H. Distribution of mitotic activity within the shoot apex of Elodea densa. Amer. Jour. Botan. 1957. 44:311-17.

Stant M. Y. The shoot apex of some monocotyledons. I. Ann. Botan. N. S. 1952. 16:115-28.

Vaughan E. K., Cropsey M. S. Onion neck rot control. Oregon Veg. Digest. 1958. 7:1-4.

Onion storage rot control. Oregon Veg. Digest. 1959. 8:1-7.

Wright R. C., Peacock W. M. Influence of storage temperatures on the rest period and dormancy of potatoes. U. S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bul. 1934. p.424.

Yamaguchi M., Pratt H. K., Morris L. L. Effect of storage temperatures on keeping quality and composition of onion bulbs and on subsequent darkening of dehydrated flakes. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 1957. 69:421-26.

Also in this issue:

An achilles heel for agricultural research

Participation in federal farm commodity programs

Are sierra lakes becoming acid?

Resistance to sulfur in a vineyard spider mite predator

Systemic nematicides tested as alternatives to DBCP

Sampling for nematodes

A foliage blight of euonymus caused by

Stomatal response to soil oxygen

Simplified but scientific irrigation scheduling

Weeds may augment biological control of insects