Effect of sprout suppressant and storage environment on storage losses and post-cold storage behaviour of onion

The losses in cold store were very low (5 to 6 percent) as compared to ambient storage (20–25 percent). There was no rotting, sprouting and black mould infection in cold storage, while considerable amount of rotting and black mould was noticed in ambient stored onions in storage structure. In irradiated bulbs, there was no sprouting irrespective of storage conditions. There were some sprouted bulbs in ambient stored untreated and maleic hydrazide treated bulbs. The storage losses in post-cold storage period were less in gamma irradiated cold stored treatment than all other treatments. The sprouting of bulbs increased rapidly in untreated and maleic hydrazide treatment. But very less sprouting was noticed in gamma irradiated cold stored bulbs during four months of post-cold storage. The weight loss, rotting and black mould infection was also lower in cold stored onion. Thus, the cold storage with gamma irradiation was found to enhance self-life and minimise storage losses in onion.