Onion farming and harvesting in Nashik - India

From the archive record

The onion is one of the most important commercial vegetable crops grown in India. The demand for onion is worldwide. It is used both in raw and mature bulb stage as vegetable and spices. The pungency in onion is due to a volatile oil known as ally-proopyldisulphide. The bulb of onion consists of swollen bases of green foliage leaves and fleshy scales. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, A.P., Bihar and Punjab are the important onion producing states. Maharashtra is a leading state in onion production. Out of total annual production of about 60 lakh tonnes of country, about 16 lakh tonnes are produced in Maharashtra alone. In Maharashtra, though Nasik, Ahmednagar, Pune and Satara are the major onion producing districts, the production is taken in three seasons, i.e. Kharif (May-July to Oct-Dec.) Late-