ABSTRACT
Diseases are common in stored onions, but there is no survey specifying the cause and even the incidence. Thus, this study aimed to identify the cause and the disease levels in the storage of two cultivars and two categories of onion. In the crop seasons 2014 and 2015, in the region of Alto Vale do Itajaí, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, 27 bulb samples were collected from 29 onion farmers and included the cultivar Epagri 362 – Crioula or the cultivar Empasc 352 - Bola Precoce, for both category 3 and category 4. Onions were stored under natural ventilation for 140 days and at every 28 days they were evaluated for occurrence of diseases based on symptoms and levels of incidence. Incidence of southern blight caused by Sclerotium rolfsii was less than 2.7% and that of black mould (Aspergillus niger) was 24.8% and 6.6% in 2014 and 2015, respectively. For soft rot (Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum) and sour skin of onion (Burkholderia cepacia), incidence was 45.4% and 30.9%, and 50.7% and 45.3% in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The obtained results aim at finding solutions to reduce the damage that occurs during onion storage in the region of Alto Vale do Itajaí, Santa Catarina State, Brazil.
Keywords
Allium cepa; postharvest; phytopathogen