COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ONION (Allium cepa L.) SEED QUALITY IN RELATION TO STORAGE CONTAINERS AND DURATION

Abstract

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is an essential bulbous vegetable and condiment crop known for having some of the shortest-lived seeds among common vegetable crops. These seeds quickly lose their viability after harvest unless special storage precautions are taken. An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of storage containers and durations on the quality of onion seeds at the Seed Technology Laboratory, Gazipur Agricultural University (GAU), Gazipur, Bangladesh from April to June 2024. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications, where two storage containers (plastic jar and cloth bag) and four storage periods (15, 30, 45, and 60 days) were used as treatments to assess the seed quality status of onions. The onion seeds stored in a plastic jar exhibited better germination capacity, as indicated by a high germination index, higher root and shoot lengths of the seedlings, seedling dry weight per plant, and a high vigor index. On the contrary, higher thousand seed weight, moisture content, and electrical conductivity were recorded in the cloth bag seed, indicating lower seed quality during the testing period. The moisture content, thousand seed weight, and electrical conductivity increased with the longer duration of storage. In addition, germination index, seedling root length, seedling shoot length, seedling dry weight per plant, and vigor index decreased with the increase in storage duration. The results suggested that the plastic jar maintained a better quality of onion seeds over the storage periods compared to the cloth bag.

References

Abdul‐Baki, A.A. and Anderson, J.D. 1970. Viability and leaching of sugars from germinating barley 1. Crop sci. 10(1): 31-34.

Agrawal, P.K. and Dadlani, M. 1992. Techniques in seed science and technology. South Asian Publishers, New Delhi. p. 114-120.

Agrawal, R.L. 2003. Seed Tech. Oxford and IBH Pub. Co. Ltd. New Delhi. India. p. 395-397.

Akter, N., Haque, M., Islam, M. and Alam, K. 2014. Seed quality of stored Soybean (Glycine max L.) as influenced by storage containers and storage periods. The Agriculturists. 12(1): 85-95.

Alhamdan, A.M., Alsadon, A.A., Khalil, S.O., Allah, M.A., Nagar, M.E., Nagar, M.E. and Ibrahim, A.A. 2011. Influence of storage conditions on seed quality and longevity of four vegetable crops. American-Eurasian J. of Agri. and Environ. Sci. 11(3): 353-359.

Ali, S.M.M., Haque, M.M., Siddique, A.B., Mollah, A.F. and Islam, M.N. 2004. Effect of sowing date on the viability and vigour of tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius L.) seed in late sown condition. SAARC J. of Agri. 2: 23-38.

Ansari, T.H., Surattuzzaman, M. and Islam, M.S. 1996. Status of health and germination of seed stored in different containers at farmer’s level in Mymensingh. Progress Agri. 7(2): 109-111.

AOSA. 1983. Seed vigor testing handbook. Association of Official Seed Analysts. Contribution. 32: 88.

Barua, H., Rahman, M.M. and Masud, M.M. 2009. Effect of storage container environment at different storage period on the quality of chilli seed. Int. J. Sust. Crop Prod. 4(4):28-32.

BBS, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2022. Statistical Year Book of Bangladesh. Government of People's Republic of Bangladesh 42nd edition. p. 135.

Bhasker, P., Gupta, P.K., Rayte, B.P. and Ambare, T.P. 2020. Modern NHRDF onion storage structure under sub-tropical conditions. Vegetable Sci. 47(2): 261-265.

Bukar, Y.M., Abubakar, L.G., Jahun, B.G., Ibrahim, Y. and Umar, U.A. 2023. Onion storage structures in Nigeria: A review of the current status, constraints and a model for future prospects. Nigerian J. Hort. Sci. 27(1).

Copeland, L.O. and McDonald, M.B. 2001. Principles of seed science and technology (4th edition). Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers. p.14-28.

Doijode, S.D. 1987. Onion seed quality in relation to seed deterioration under accelerated ageing conditions. Veg. Sci. 12: 56-63.

Doijode, S.D. 1995. Effect of silica gel and storage containers on viability and vigour in onion. Seed Res. 18: 163-165.

Geetanjali, C., Sangeeta, I.M., Prashant S.M. and Beladhadi, R.V. 2019. Effect of storage conditions on seed longevity of onion (Allium cepa L.). Int. J. Current Microbiol. Appl. Sci. 8(2): 1897-1905.

Gomez, K.A. and Gomez, A.A. 1984. Statistical procedures for agricultural research (2nd ed.). Wiley.

Gorechi, R.J. 1982. Viability and vigor of ageing pea seeds with various densities. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 57: 481-488.

Hasan, A.K., Mokhlasina, M., Zaman, F., Hossain, M., Islam, M.S. and Rasul, S. 2024. Seed quality and seed health of field pea cultivars as influenced by storage containers. Asia-Pacific J. Sci. Technol. 29(02), APST–29.

Hasna, M.K. and Begum, H.A. 2020. Effect of storage container on seed quality of jute and onion. Bangladesh J. Nuclear. Agric. 33 & 34: 63-72.

ISTA, International Seed Testing Association 1999. International Rules for Seed Testing. Seed Sci. Tech. 4:3-177.

Jayraj, T. and Karivaratharaju, T. V. 1992. Influence of harvesting stage on seed vigour of groundnut cultivars. Seed Res. 20(1): 41-43.

Kandil, A., Leilah, A., Mostafa, A. and Hassan, F. 2009. Effect of storage methods and periods on germination of onion seed. J. Plant Prod. 34(8): 8927-8933.

Krishnasamy, V. and Seshu, D.V. 1990. Germination after accelerated ageing and associated characters in rice varieties. Seed Sci. Tech. 18(1): 147–156.

Kumar, S., Basu, S., Anand, A., Lal, S.K. and Tomar, B.S. 2021. Identification of the best germination indices represents seed quality status in unaged and aged onion seeds. Int. J. Current Microbiol. and Appl. Sci. 10(2): 76-85.

Mcdonald, M.B. 1999. Seed deterioration: Physiology, repair and assessment. Seed Sci. and Tech. 27(1): 177-237.

Mcdonald, M.B. 2004. Orthodox seed deterioration and its repair. In handbook of seed physiology: application to agriculture. (Eds. Benech, R.L. Arnold, and R.A. Sanchez). p: 273-304.

Muhit, A.A., Islam, M.H., Husna, A. and Zereen, I. 2024. Revolutionizing onion preservation: A novel aerated storage approach. Archives of Agri. and Environ. Sci. 9(2): 329-335.

Nagaveni, P.K. 2005. Effect of storage conditions, packing material and seed treatment on viability and vigour of onion seeds. Master thesis, university of UAS, Dharwad.

Naik, I.S., Hilli J.S., Uppar, D.S., Patil, R.V. and Nawalagatti, C.M. 2022. Effect of different containers and storage conditions on seed quality parameters during storage in onion seed. The Pharma Innovation J. 11(12): 2187-2191.

Natubhai, B., Patil, K., Karjule, A. and Patel, D. 2018. Effect of storage containers and duration on seed quality of onion under ambient conditions. Seed Res. J. 45: 1-4.

Padma, V. and Reddy M.B. 2000. The effect of seed moisture and packaging material on onion seed longevity. Seed Res. 28: 171-75.

Patel J.N., Sasidharan, N., Sudeshna, C., Bhushan, A., Kumari, K., Thakare, I. and Gayatri, L. 2012. Effect of different storage materials and storage periods on the germination of onion seeds (Allium cepa L.) Res. J. Agri. Sci. 3(6): 1180-1182.

Rao, R.G.S., Singh, P.M and Rai, M. 2006. Storability of onion seeds and effects of packaging and storage conditions on viability and vigour. Sci. Hort. 110(1): 1-6.

Roberts, E.H. 1972. Storage environment and the control of viability. In viability of seeds (Ed. EH Roberts). p: 14-58. Chapman and Hall, London.

Satishkumar, Basavegowda and Sharnkumar, 2014. Effect of seed pelleting chemicals and storage containers on storability of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.). Int. J. Plant Sci. 9: 173-79.

Saxena, G.K., Halsey L.H., Gull, D.D. and Persuad, N. 1974. Evaluation of carrot and onion cultivars for commercial production in Guyana. Sci. Hort., 2: 257.

Sisman, C.B. 2005. Quality losses in temporary sunflower seed stores and influences of storage conditions on quality losses during storage. J. of Central European Agri. 6(2): 143-150.

Snedecor, G.W. and Cochran, W.G. 1980. Statistical Methods. 7th Edn., Iowa State Univ. Press, Iowa, USA. p. 507.

Suma, A., Sreenivasan, K., Singh, A. K. and Radhamani, J. 2013. Role of relative humidity in processing and storage of seeds and assessment of variability in storage behaviour in Brassica spp. and Eruca sativa. The Sci. World J. 9: 1-5.

Tekrony, D.M. and Egli, D.B. 1997. Accumulation of seed vigour during development and maturation. In: Ellis, R.H., Black, M., Murdoch, A.J., Hong, T.D. (eds) Basic and Applied Aspects of Seed Biology. Current Plant Sci. and Biotech. Agri. vol 30. Springer, Dordrecht.

Tithi, D.A., Amin, M.R., Azad, H.M.S. and Rahman, M.A. 2010. Effect of different containers on moisture content and germination of mustard seed. J. Sci. Tech. 8:193-197.

Tripathi, P.C. 2014. Effect of seed moisture and packing material on viability and vigour of onion seeds. J. Eng. Computers and Applied Sci. 3(7): 1-5.