At this time how to plant shallots have experienced many innovations and progress. Many farmers are utilizing the latest technologies for onion cultivation, so the results are also more abundant. Onion is a kind of seasonal horticultural season that has a high economic value. At the time of harvest season that is done simultaneously sometimes make the price of red onion plummeted. Therefore it is necessary to plant onion outside the planting period in general.
Practical Guide on How to Plant a Red Onion
Red onion cultivation is suitable when summer comes, because plants require sunlight more than 12 hours per day. For the cultivation of the onion is choosing an environment that is at an altitude of 0 to 900 below sea level. Medium temperatures that support the growth of red onion is about 25 to 35 degrees centigrade. While the soil acidity limit between pH 5.6 to 7.
Below will be discussed about the technical guidance of onion cultivation in an easy way. This method has been widely applied by onion farmers and the results are quite satisfactory. Immediately start to the steps of planting onions.
Choosing Red Onion Seeds
There are so many varietes of onion seeds that you can cultivate. Among them are local seeds to import hybrid seeds. For seeds sold in the form of seeds, there are also seeds in the form of tubers. The second type of seed that is widely used by farmers in onion cultivation. A good onion seed is a seed that comes from an old harvested tuber or around the age of 80 -100 days depending on the location of the planting.
The amount of seed needed in onion cultivation also depends on what varieties will be planted. For 20 x 20 plant spacing with 5 gram seed weight it takes about 1.4 tons of seed for each hectare. For the same tuber weight and using 15 x 15 plant spacing, it takes about 2.4 tons of seed per hectare. If the size and weight of the smaller seeds of seed needs per hectare even less.
Processing the Soil and Planting the Red Onion Seeds
Before planting onions first need to be prepared for planting land. Make a bed with a width of 1-1.2 meters, 50 cm height beds, and display beds adjusted to the available land. Make the distance between beds about 50 cm, as well as serve as a trench with a depth of 50 cm. Soil in the bed by hoeing as deep as 20 cm. The shape of the bed surface becomes flat.
If the soil acidity is less than pH 5.6, use lime or dolomite as much as 1-1.5 tons for one hectare of land. This lime solution should be done about 2 weeks before the ground is planted with red onion.
For basic fertilizer, use manure or compost. Spread the fertilizer onto the bed and stir it with the ground until evenly distributed. Can also add chemical fertilizers such as ZA, SP-36 and KCL as much 47 Kg, 311 Kg and 56 Kg for one hectare of land. Combine all artificial fertilizer and then let stand for one week before the beds planted onion seeds.
Prepare tubers or onion seedlings that are ready to be planted. If the seeds are used less than 2 months of age should be done on the tip of the tuber, about 0.5 cm. It aims to break the dormant period so as to accelerate the growth of plant shoots.
How to plant shallots in the dry season is to give the spacing compressed into 15 x 15 cm. While planting in the rainy season make a spacing of at least 20 x 20 cm. How to plant the onion seed is by immersing all parts of the tubers into the soil.
Onion Cultivation Care
How to Plant shallots to note is the watering of plants. This activity should be done twice a day ie in the morning and evening. This is done from the beginning of planting until the plants are aged 10 days, after which the frequency is reduced to one time a day.
The next treatment is the additional fertilizer that is done when the plant is 2 weeks old from the beginning of planting. The type of fertilizer used is a mixture of KCI, ZA, urea. The composition of each fertilizer is 112 Kg, 200 Kg and 93 Kg. Further fertilization is done when the plants enter the age of 5 weeks with the composition of urea 47 Kg, ZA 100 Kg, and KCI 56 Kg per hectare. fertilization done by making the gourd around the plant.
How to cultivate shallots crops is cleaning the weeds that grow around the onion. Weeding is usually done 2 times per one planting season. To save the cost of maintenance, weeding can be done simultaneously with the provision of fertilizer aftershocks. But if weed plants that grow too much should be done weeding.
Pest Control of Red Onion Pests
Onion plants have several types of pests and diseases that attack. But there are several types of diseases that often attack the onion cultivation of caterpillar pests and wilt disease. Caterpillar pests often attack the leek, the symptoms caused visible white patches on the leaves. When the binocular leaf will be seen a caterpillar bite.
To overcome this pest can be done manually by taking the caterpillar and eggs directly, then destroyed. When onion cultivation is done in large scale, this pest control can be done by using sex trap pheromone. Use about 40 pieces for each hectare. When the attacks intensify and cause damage to the plant can be sprayed with insecticides made from active klorfirifos.
Type of wilt disease also often attack onion. Symptoms such as yellowing leaves like twisted. The base of the onion begins to rot. If this happens immediately remove the indicated plants affected by this disease, then burn the plant. The next step is to spray the fungicide.
Harvest of Red Onion Cultivation
One of the characteristics of onion plants that are ready to be harvested if 60-70% of onion leaf has started to fall. Or you can do a random tuber check. Especially when using the seeds from the bulbs, the level of leaves that fall should reach 90%. How to plant the next onion is to pay attention to the plants that have begun to be harvested. Usually red onion can begin to be harvested within the range of 55-70 days since planting.
The productivity of onions also varies, depending on the climate, weather and type of planted onions. In Indonesia the average in one hectare of land can produce about 3-12 tons of red onion with national average reaches 9.47 tons per hectare. The harvested onion bulbs will go through the drying process first. For terrible onions can be done with the drying process for 7-14 days. When the water content on the onion has dropped to 85% means the onion is dry and ready to be marketed.
