Abstract

EFFECT OF INTERMITTENT SUN DRYING ON STORABILITY OF TRUE SEEDS OF ONION

M.R.A. Mollah*, M. A. Ali, M.M. Rahman, M.Z.H. Prodhanand T. Hasan

Abstract

Onion seed production is a very highly technical approach. Technical information on different aspects of production of true seeds of onion is very limited in Bangladesh. Germination failure due to improper storage of true seeds of onion is one of the problems for the farmers to produce true seeds of onion. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with four replications to effect of sun drying for storage of true seeds of onion. Three treatments viz. D0= Without intermittent sun drying, D1= Intermittent sun drying at 75 days after storage and D2= Intermittent sun drying at 150 days after storage were consisted to achieve the objective. The experiment was conducted at the Department of Plant Pathology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during 2011-2012. The results revealed that the percentage of germination, moisture content of seed and prevalence of seed borne fungi were significantly influenced by the different treatments. Results showed that among different treatments, an intermittent sun drying at 75 days after storage to keep the moisture level nearly 8%. This situation onion seed could remain viable at least 6 to 7 months.

Keywords: Intermittent, sun drying, storability, true seeds, onion.