Effects of the production season and the size of onion bulbs (Allium cepa L.) on their storage life at room temperature and humidity in Burkina Faso

摘要

The lack of cool storage rooms causes enormous losses of bulbs for a great number of onion growers. An assessment is done to determine the effects of growing season and the size of onion bulbs on their storage life. The trial was carried out in Ouahigouya in Northern Burkina Faso, in the Sudano-Sahelian climatic zone. Onion bulbs were grown in two different seasons and sorted into classes according to the one bulb weight. According to the growing season of bulbs, the late season is better than the normal season. Over 150 days of storage, the percentages of weight losses were 49.3 ± 3 % for the bulbs from late season and 57.7 ± 1.8 % for those from normal season. According to the size of bulb, the large bulbs have recorded more weight losses (85.6 ± 1.3 %) than medium bulbs (77.9 ± 0.5 %) or small bulbs (79.0 ± 2.9%), over a time of 240 days of storage. These results are useful for the storage of onion bulbs at room temperatures. They will help producers to optimize the losses of bulbs and to make more profit by keeping their harvest until to carry best market prices.