Storage of onions – a review

Onion storage is widely practised worldwide in accordance to their cultural and economical practice. In India, method of storage adopted mostly depends on the traditional knowledge and commonly practised methods are bag, pucca/room, tat storage, bamboo, chawl structure and the losses associated are quite higher. Sprouting, desiccation and microbial spoilage are often observed in storage and it compels to choose advanced techniques like modified ventilated structures, modified atmospheric (MA) and controlled atmospheric (CA) storage. The CA and MA storage reduces the application of chemicals for sprout inhibition by manipulating the gas composition to extend the storage period of the onions.