ONION LOSSES DURING STORAGE AS

INFLUENCED BY CURING METHOD

Adel H. Bahnasawy
*
Agric. Mechanization Department
Moshtohor Agric. College
Zagazig University-Benha Branch
Toukh-Qaliouia - !gypt
ABSTRACT
The main aim of this work was to study the effect of curing methods on the onion
losses during storage. Onions were cured using four methods as follows: (a) field curing
for 11 days (traditional), (b) solar drying for three days, (c) artificial curing (emergency
curing) at 455!
o
" for 1! hours and (d) no curing. Onion losses at the end of curing
#rocess were determined for each method. The cured onions were stored at (a) room
tem#erature ($5$%
o
" and 45%5& '() and (b) low tem#erature (4)
o
" and )5*!&
'(). The losses of onion were determined at inter+als during the storage #eriod. The
results indicated that the highest losses (4 &) were recorded when the onion cured at the
o#en field for 11 days, followed by solar drying treatment ($.,5 &) and the lowest losses
were $& for the artificial curing treatment at the end of curing #rocess. -uring storage,
there were no significant differences in moisture losses for all treatments of curing under
both storage conditions. The total losses recorded during storage #eriod for the onion at
room conditions were higher than those of cold storage conditions for all curing
treatments. The highest total losses were recorded for no curing treatment, followed by
solar curing treatment under room conditions storage, while the lowest losses were
recorded for the field curing treatment. There was no onion s#routing until the end of
e.#eriment when onion was stored at room conditions, while by the second month, onion
started to s#rout under cold storage conditions and increased by the end of e.#eriment.
The highest s#routing #ercentage was recorded for the field curing treatment (1,.1%&).
Keyw!ds"
Onion curing / tem#erature / 'elati+e humidity / 0eight losses 1rtificial
curing / 'oom tem#erature.
*
2ecturer of 1gricultural 3ngineering, 4oshtohor 5ac. Of 1gric., 6aga7ig 8ni+., 9enha 9ranch,
4oshtohor, Toukh 3gy#t tel $!1:4)5)!) fa. $!1:4)%**%email: bahnasawyadel;hotmail.com
INTRODUCTION
The onion (Allium cepa) is usually cured after har+esting to allow the in<ured and
bruised surfaces to be healed, also to form the #eriderm during the healing #rocess. 8nder
the currently used system for onion curing in 3gy#t, the onion is windrowed in the o#en
field for about 1$ weeks under the ambient conditions. -uring this #rocess, onion bulbs
are e.#osed to the direct solar radiation, which causes sun scald. =n addition to the losses
due to moisture e+a#oration and the attack of #ests.
"uring is an essential ste# in #reser+ation of onions. "uring seals the interior of the
onion from the intrusion of diseases during #osthar+est storage and shi##ing. "uring
in+ol+es drying the outer skin, cauteri7ing incisions that may e.ist through the outer ring,
sealing the neck or roots from the intrusion of disease organisms (4aw et al., 1,,%). The
aims of curing may be to kill any fungal mycelia which de+elo# on the bulb, in #articular
those of the rot neck fungus, Botrytis allii. This can be done by heating the onions to :)
:*
o
" for at least fi+e days ((arrows et al., 1,),). "uring in the field is the least
e.#ensi+e of all methods and allows nutrients to return from the to#s to the bulb, thus
enhancing >uality. ?et suitable climatical conditions for this to occur in the field can not
be guaranteed (@mittle and 0illiamson, 1,%*).
(eat treatment of onion has been studied for drying bulbs in order to reduce the
moisture content of the outer dry scale and also to curtail the s#read of fungal #athogens
during longterm storage. -rying in a current of air at :!
o
" o+er a #eriod of 4* days has
been recommended (1non, 1,*,). Arestorage conditioning of the bulb using forced air
has been e.#lored (2e#ori et al., 1,%!B 9ondare+a, 1,%4B 9uffington and Custshaw, 1,%)B
4arino+ et al., 1,%,). (eat treatment could be also beneficial in reducing microbial
s#oilage. 9uchanan (1,),) and Aeters et al. (1,%*) re#orted that curing onions by hot air
could reduce the s#read of Botrytis allii. -Dyachinco (1,%,) re#orted that rot causing
organisms may be destroyed by treatment for $4h at 45
o
" or for $!h at 4*
o
".
=t has been established that heat treatment at 5!
o
" for :h resulted in the death of 1*,
5! and 1!!& of dry, wet and germinated s#ores, res#ecti+ely, of the #rinci#le #athogen
Aspregillus niger (Thami7harasi and Earasimham, 1,,:).
Outside air may be used for onion curing or the air may be artificially heated to $4
$,.5
o
" if outside air was too cool or humid. 5or this added curing #eriod about
$5!!!cm:Fsec of air #er m: of onions is usually ade>uate. -uring this forced +entilation,
the bulbs should lose :5& of their #restorage weight, the neck should become dry and
the outer scales brittle. O+ercuring will cause e.cessi+e loss of outer scales and e.cessi+e
humidity or tem#erature during curing may cause staining the outer scales. "ondensation
on the onion should be a+oided ('yall and 2i#ton, 1,%,).
The main aim of this work was to study the effect of curing methods on the onion
losses during storage. The s#ecific ob<ecti+es were: (a) to determine the losses of onion
after the curing #rocess, (b) to record tem#eratures and '( of the air as well as the onion
bulbs during the curing #rocess, and (c) to determine the onion losses and onion s#routing.
E#$ERIMENTAL $ROCEDURES
This study was carried out at the -e#artment of 1gricultural 3ngineering,
4oshtohor 1griculture "ollege, 6aga7ig 8ni+ersity, 9enha 9ranch during the #eriod of
4ay@e#tember, $!!!. Onions were cured using four different methods (artificial curing,
solar curing, field curing and no curing treatment). "uring bin was constructed from steel
and co+ered with a black color #lastic sheet. The bin was di+ided into 4 shel+es.
Tem#eratures and '( of the air as well as the onion bulbs were recorded during the curing
#rocess. Onion bulbs were cured artificially by forcing a heated air through a bin, which
has four shel+es and co+ered with #lastic sheet for 1! hours. Onion bulbs were cured by
using the same bin but it was co+ered with a black sheet (o#ened from the to#) and e.#osed to
the direct sun radiation for three days (solar drying). Onions were left on the o#ened field for
11 days as it is usually #racticed by the 3gy#tian farmers (field curing). 0eight loss was also
recorded for each treatment. The cured onions were stored at (a) room tem#erature ($5$%
o
" and 45%5& '() and (b) low tem#erature (4)
o
" and )5*!& '(). The losses of
onion were determined after curing and at inter+als during the storage #eriod.
1 local culti+ar (Ci7a $!) grown in Galioubia Co+ernorate, 3gy#t was used. This
culti+ar is characteri7ed by its marked #ungency, high dry matter content, firm and tight outer
scales, and closed neck which enable it a longer storage #eriod. Ten sam#les of onion bulbs
were taken randomly to measure the a+erage #olar and e>uatorial diameters, neck diameter,
neck length, the a+erage weight and the initial moisture content of bulbs before storing. These
were 4.,H!.!* cm, 4.),H!.%4 cm, 1.1H!.:cm, 1.5H!.45cm, 1!)H:).) g and *).5H$.4 & (w.b.),
res#ecti+ely.
The C%!&n' B&n
The curing bin, in which the onion bulbs were #laced during the curing #rocess, was
constructed from steel co+ered with #lastic. The length, width and height of the bin
(F&'%!e 1) were !.5, !.5, and 1.! m, res#ecti+ely. The bin frame was made from 4cm .
4cm steel angles. The bin was di+ided into 4 shel+es.
Hea(ed A&! )!*&n' Sys(e+
The heated air forced system consisted of a blower, heated air source and main duct. 1
blower of ma.imum #ressure :5m and ma.imum +acuum is *m, working on $$!+, 5!(7, ma..
discharge is 1.4 m
:
Fh and $*5! r#m (=nternational, 4odel O9)!) was used to #ro+ide the
heated air. =t was o#erated using a !.5 h#, electric motor.
Meas%!e+en(s
,. D!y-B%l. Te+/e!a(%!e
1 digital scanning thermocou#le (=@O I3E-O' "3'T=5=3- ,!!1 "at. Eo. ,$*!!
Eew ?ork, 8@1) was used to measure the tem#erature at +arious locations in the onion
curing bin as well as the ambient tem#erature. 1 control board was constructed to record
the tem#erature readings using a number of switches e>uals to the number of
thermocou#le sensors. Thirteen thermocou#le sensors (Ty#e T, "at. Eo. 3!*5!!%4,
(anwell, 2ondon, 8J) were located at +arious #ositions of the curing bin and one
thermocou#le sensor was used to measure the ambient air tem#erature.
0. Rela(&1e H%+&d&(y
Thermohydrometer (@igma == 4odel E@==G Ty#e Eo. %$1!.!! @J @1TO
J3='?OJ= 45C. "O., 2T4 Tokyo K1A1E) was used to record the relati+e humidity
in the curing bin as well as the ambient relati+e humidity of the air surrounding the bin.
5igure 1. -iagram showing the curing bin and the heated air blower.
@helf 1
@helf :
@helf
$
@helf 4
(eated
1ir
1ir 9lower
2. M&s(%!e Cn(en(
@am#les were taken weekly to determine the moisture loss. Onion sam#les were weighed
before and after drying. Onion sam#les were dried using drying o+en at 1!5
o
" until a
constant weight was obtained according to 1O1" (1,,)).
3. On&n De(e!&!a(&n
The stored onions were ins#ected monthly to determine the #ercent of deterioration.
The s#oiled onions were weighed and the accumulati+e #ercentage of deterioration was
determined (from the original weight of the onion).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
,. C%!&n'"
,.,. A!(&)&*&al C%!&n'"
F&'%!e 0 shows the recorded tem#eratures of ambient air and onion bulbs, relati+e
humidity, and onion weight losses at different bin shel+es for the artificial curing #rocess. =t
indicated that the tem#erature (ranged from 455!
o
") decreased from the bottom towards to
the to# of the curing bin and the re+erse was ha##ened for the relati+e humidity +alues
(ranged from $545&). The highest weight losses were recorded for the onion at the first
shelf (:.!&) followed by the second, third and fourth shelf ($.4, 1.5 and !.)4 &
res#ecti+ely). This was due to the higher tem#erature and lower relati+e humidity, which
was the main characteristics of the air incoming to the curing binB moreo+er, the air +elocity
was higher at the entrance than those at the other shel+es.
,.0. Sla! C%!&n'"
F&'%!e 2 shows the effect of tem#erature and relati+e humidity on the weight losses
of the onion during the solar curing #rocess. The results indicated that the weight losses
increased for the onion on the to# of the bin because they were e.#osed directly to the sun
beside the black sheet was acting as a solar collector. =t indicated also that the tem#erature
decreases from the bottom of the bin to the to# of it and the re+erse was ha##ened for the
relati+e humidity +alues. The weight loss #ercent from the onion increased as we go
u#ward in the onion bin, this was due to the solar radiation affects the first layers facing the
sun more the followed layers.
,.2. F&eld C%!&n'
Onions were left on the o#en field for 1! days as it is usually #racticed by the 3gy#tian
farmers. F&'%!e 3 shows the effect of tem#erature and relati+e humidity on the weight
losses of the onion during the curing #rocess. Onion weight losses increased with the time
of curing. The results indicated that the a+erage onion surface tem#erature during the
daytime ranged from $!5!
o
" and the a+erage ambient tem#erature ranged from $!:5
o
".
The ambient relati+e humidity ranged from :!,!& during the day and night times.
1t the end of curing #rocess, the a+erage onion weight losses for the different curing
treatments were shown in F&'%!e 4. =t shows that the highest losses (4&) were recorded for the
onion which was cured at the o#en field for 11 days followed by the solar cured onion ($.,5&)
and the lowest #ercentage ($&) was recorded when the onion bulbs were cured artificially for
1! hours. The results indicated that the losses of the onion that recei+ed a field curing were as
twice as of the artificial curing treatment, this maybe due to the curing #eriod of field curing
was longer than those of the other curing methods, also there was high fluctuation of the
ambient conditions around the field cured onions.

0. On&n lsses d%!&n' s(!a'e
0.,. M&s(%!e lsses
F&'%!e 5 shows the accumulati+e moisture losses during storage #eriod at room
conditions as influenced by methods of curing. 9y the first 4 weeks, the highest losses
($.,5 &) were recorded for the onion, which cured using solar radiation while the lowest
losses ($.1 &) were recorded for the onion, which cured artificially. 9y the end of storage
#eriod, the highest moisture losses (*.:% &) were recorded for the onion which cured at the
field while the lowest losses ().41&) were recorded for the onion which did not recei+e any
curing.
F&'%!e 6 shows the accumulati+e moisture losses during storage #eriod at cold
storage conditions as influenced by methods of curing. 1fter the first 4 weeks, the highest
losses (1.,4 &) were recorded for the onion, which did not recei+e any kind of curing while
the lowest losses (1.: &) were recorded for the onion which cured at the field because the
trans#iration coefficient of the cured onion is substantially less than those of the uncured
commodities (Ian der 9erg and 2ent7, 1,%1). 9y the end of storage #eriod, the highest
losses (*.55 &) were recorded for the onion, which cured at the field while the lowest
losses ().$4 &) were recorded for the onion, which cured using the solar radiation.
Cenerally, the moisture losses ranged from ).4*.)& for all curing treatments under both
room and cold storage conditions, these results agreed with those obtained by 9oyette et al.
(1,,$).
0.0. T(al On&n Lsses"
F&'%!es 7 and 8 show the total accumulati+e onion losses under both room and cold
storage conditions for the onion curing treatments. 1t room conditions, the lowest losses
(1:.:&) were recorded when the onion recei+ed field curing while the highest losses
(1,.15&) were recorded when the onion was cured using solar radiation for three days. 1t
cold storage, the lowest losses (*.,!&) were recorded when the onion recei+ed field curing
while the highest losses (1$.,5&) were recorded when the onion did not recei+e any kind of
curing. =t indicated also that there were no significant differences in the total losses
between the onion, which recei+ed artificial, field or solar curing.
Cenerally, the total losses recorded at all curing treatments when the onion stored at
room conditions were higher than those stored at cold storage conditions. =t was higher by
).) & for the artificial curing treatment, *.*5& for the solar curing, 4.4& for the field
curing and :.,& for the nocuring treatment.
0.2. On&n s/!%(&n' a( *ld s(!a'e
Eo s#routed onion bulbs were obser+ed for the onion, which stored at room
conditions during the entire storage #eriod. 9ut at cold storage the onion started to s#rout
after the second month of storage for the all curing treatments as shown in F&'%!e ,9. =t
indicated that the onion which cured at the field recorded the highest #ercent of s#routed
bulbs (1,.1%&), followed by the onion which cured by solar radiation (,.5,&), followed by
the onion which did not recei+e any curing (%.,$&) and the lowest #ercentage (%.:&) was
recorded for the onion which cured artificially.
Conclusions
1. The artificial curing was a fast and safe method for onion curing before storage but still
is an added e.#ense to the onion #roduction. The moisture losses were higher for the
onion at the shel+es which facing the heated air stream. 1rtificial curing tem#erature
ranged from 455!
o
" and the relati+e humidity +alues ranged from $545 &.
$. @olar curing is less e.#ensi+e as com#ared with the artificial curing which allows the
solar radiation to dry onion faster than the field curing in addition to the onion is
#rotected from the direct solar radiation. The moisture losses were higher for the onion
at the shel+es which facing the sun radiation.
:. The field curing is the least e.#ensi+e of all curing methods but it recorded the highest
#ercentage of losses during the curing #rocess, storage as well as the highest s#routing
&.
4. -uring storage, there were no significant differences in moisture losses for all
treatments of curing under both storage conditions. The total losses recorded during
storage #eriod for the onion at room conditions were higher than those of cold storage
conditions for all curing treatments.
5. The highest total losses were recorded for the solar curing treatment, followed by no
curing treatment under room conditions storage, while the lowest losses were recorded
for the field curing treatment.
). The highest total losses were recorded for no curing treatment, followed by solar
curing treatment under room conditions storage, while the lowest losses were recorded
for the field curing treatment.
%. There was no onion s#routing until the end of e.#eriment when onion was stored at
room conditions, while by the second month, onion started to s#rout under cold storage
conditions and increased by the end of e.#eriment.
*. The highest s#routing #ercentage was recorded for the field curing treatment (1,.1%&).
Re)e!en*es
1O1". 1,,). Official 4ethods of 1nalysis, 1)
th
3d. 1ssociation of Official 1nalytical
"hemists. 0ashington -. ".
(arrow, J.4. and @. (arris. 1,),. 1rtificial curing of onions for control of neck rot
(Botrytis allii). E.6.K. 1gric. 'es., 1$:5,$)!4.
1non. 1,*,. =nternational @tandards =@OF-=@ 1)%:.
9ondare+a, I.@. 1,%4. 4ethods of #artial drying of onions during the storage in warehouses
with acti+e +entilation. Jonser+naya O+oshchesushilDnaya, %, 1)1%.
9oyette, 4. -., -.". @anders and 3. 1. 3stes. 1,,$. Aosthar+est cooling and handling of
onions. Aubl., 1C41:). 'aleigh, E. ".: Eorth "arolina "oo#erati+e 3.tension
@er+ice, Eorth "arolina @tate 8ni+ersity.
9uchanan, 2. ". 1,),. "ontrol of 9otrytis neck rot of onions in bulk curing and storage
facilities. "anadian =nstitute of 5ood Technology Kournal, :, 1$:1$).
9uffington, -.3. and Custshaw, K.". Kr. 1,%). @tability of onions as influenced by +acuum
curing and storage in three different en+ironments. Aroceedings of the 5lorida
(orticultural @ociety, **, :54$5,.
-D?chenko, I.@. 1,%,. 'eduction in losses during storage of onions. Jartofel = -+oshchi,
1!, :%:*.
2e#ori, 0, 9rown, ". and 2ee#er, A. 1,%!. "onditioning onions in a mechani7ed #roduction
system. Kournal of the 'io Crande Ialley (orticultural @ociety, $4, 1!511:.
4arino+, @., Ilko+, C., Ilche+, C. and 8ko+, T. 1,%,. =nitial e.#erience with storage of
onions with acti+e +entilation. 9Dlgarski Alodo+e 6elenchutsi = Jonser+i, :, 1:15.
4aw, 9. 0., -. 1. @mittle and 9. C. 4ullini.. 1,%,. 1rtificially curing sweet onions.
1##lied 3ng. =n 1griculture, 1:(4):51%5$!.
'yall, 1. 2. and 2i#ton 0. K. 1,%,. (andling, trans#ortation and storage of fruits and
+egetables. Iolume 1, @econd 3dition. Iegetables and 4elons. 1I=. Aublishing co.,
=E".0est#ort, "onnecticut. =@9E !*%!55115, (+.1, $nd ed.).
@mittle, -. 1. and '. 3. 0illiamson. 1,%*. Onion #roduction and curing in Ceorgia.
'esearch 'e#ort $4*. Kune. Tifton, Ca. 8ni+ersity of Ceorgia.
Thamai7harasi, I. and Earasimham, A. 1,,:. Crowth of Spergillus niger on onion bulbs and
its control by heat and sul#hur dio.ide treatments. Tro#ical @cience, ::, 4555.


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