Onions and other vegetable alliums

454 Pages·2008·5.646 MB·English

by  James L Brewster

C P S H
ROP RODUCTION CIENCE IN ORTICULTURE
S
ERIES
Series Editors: Jeff Atherton, Professor of Tropical
Horticulture, University of the West Indies, Barbados, and
Alun Rees, Horticultural Consultant and former Editor,
Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology.
This series examines economically important horticultural crops selected from
the major production systems in temperate, subtropical and tropical climatic
areas. Systems represented range from open field and plantation sites to
protected plastic and glass houses, growing rooms and laboratories. Emphasis is
placed on the scientific principles underlying crop production practices rather
than on providing empirical recipes for uncritical acceptance. Scientific
understanding provides the key to both reasoned choice of practice and the
solution of future problems.
Students and staff at universities and colleges throughout the world involved
in courses in horticulture, as well as in agriculture, plant science, food science
and applied biology at degree, diploma or certificate level will welcome this series
as a succinct and readable source of information. The books will also be
invaluable to progressive growers, advisers and end-product users requiring an
authoritative, but brief, scientific introduction to particular crops or systems. Keen
gardeners wishing to understand the scientific basis of recommended practices
will also find the series very useful.
The authors are all internationally renowned experts with extensive
experience of their subjects. Each volume follows a common format covering all
aspects of production, from background physiology and breeding, to propagation
and planting, through husbandry and crop protection, to harvesting, handling and
storage. Selective references are included to direct the reader to further
information on specific topics.
Titles Available:
1. Ornamental Bulbs, Corms and Tubers A.R. Rees
2. CitrusF.S. Davies and L.G. Albrigo
3. Onions and Other Vegetable AlliumsJ.L. Brewster
4. Ornamental Bedding Plants A.M. Armitage
5. Bananas and PlantainsJ.C. Robinson
6. CucurbitsR.W. Robinson and D.S. Decker-Walters
7. Tropical FruitsH.Y. Nakasone and R.E. Paull
8. Coffee, Cocoa and TeaK.C. Willson
9. Lettuce, Endive and Chicory E.J. Ryder
10. Carrots and Related Vegetable UmbelliferaeV.E. Rubatzky, C.F. Quiros
and P.W. Simon
11. StrawberriesJ.F. Hancock
12. Peppers: Vegetable and Spice CapsicumsP.W. Bosland and E.J. Votava
13. TomatoesE. Heuvelink
14. Vegetable Brassicas and Related CrucifersG. Dixon
15. Onions and Other Vegetable Alliums, 2nd Edition J.L. Brewster
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O O V
NIONS AND THER EGETABLE
A , 2 E
LLIUMS ND DITION
James L. Brewster
Formerly at Horticulture Research International
(now known as Warwick HRI),
Wellesbourne, Warwick CV35 9EF, UK
CABI is a trading name of CAB International
CABI Head Office CABI North American Office
Nosworthy Way 875 Massachusetts Avenue
Wallingford 7th Floor
Oxfordshire OX10 8DE Cambridge, MA 02139
UK USA
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
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E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.cabi.org
© J.L. Brewster2008. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means,
electronically, mechanically, by photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the copyright owners.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library,
London, UK.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brewster, James L.
Onions and other vegetable alliums / J.L. Brewster. -- 2nd ed.
p.cm. -- (Crop production science in horticulture series ; 15)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84593-399-9 (alk. paper)
1. Onions. 2. Allium. I. Title. II. Series: Crop production science in
horticulture ; 15.
SB341.B74 2008
635(cid:1).25--dc22
2007045092
ISBN: 978 1 84593 399 9
Typeset by Columns Design Ltd, Reading, UK.
Printed and bound in the UK by Biddles Ltd, King’s Lynn.
C
ONTENTS
PREFACE ix
1
THECLASSIFICATION, ORIGINS, DISTRIBUTIONAND
ECONOMICIMPORTANCEOFTHEMAJORVEGETABLECROPS 1
Classification of Alliums 1
Distribution and Ecology 4
The Types, History and Evolution of the Edible Crops 5
Economic Importance 22
2
THESTRUCTUREOFEDIBLEALLIUMS 27
Visible Growth Stages 27
Outline of the Overall Plant Structure 27
The Structure of the Vegetative Shoot Apex 32
Stem Structure 33
Bulb Structure 36
Foliage Leaf Structure 39
The Root System 40
Inflorescence and Flower Structure and Development 45
Seeds 47
3
THEGENETICSANDPLANTBREEDINGOFALLIUMCROPS 51
Introduction 51
The Chromosomes 52
Breeding Systems 54
Genetics 56
v
vi Contents
Genetic Linkage Maps 59
Genomics 64
Hybrid Vigour 65
Genetic Male Sterility and Hybrid Breeding 65
Techniques of Breeding and Cultivar Improvement 67
Pollination Control in Breeding 73
Breeding Objectives in Edible Alliums 73
Selection Methods and Environmental Influences 75
Genetic Transformation of Alliums 77
Breeding for Disease and Pest Resistance 79
Conclusions 83
4
PHYSIOLOGYOFCROPGROWTH, DEVELOPMENTANDYIELD 85
Fundamental Determinants of Yield 85
Agronomic Factors Influencing Bulb Onion Yields 90
Seed Viability, Germination and Emergence 93
Vegetative Growth 116
Onion Bulbing 123
Models for Onion Growth and Bulbing 135
Physiology and Environmental Control of Flowering 138
Interrelations of Growth, Flowering and Bulbing in Onion 149
Shallots 151
Wakegi Onion 152
Garlic 156
Leek 160
Japanese Bunching Onion 166
Rakkyo 168
Chives 168
Chinese Chives 169
Concluding Remarks 169
5
INTERACTIONSWITHOTHERORGANISMS: WEEDS,
PESTS, DISEASESANDSYMBIONTS 171
Introduction 171
Weeds and Weed Control 173
Arthropod Pests 186
Nematode Pests 198
Viral Diseases 201
Bacterial Diseases 209
Contents vii
Fungal Leaf Diseases 216
Fungal Diseases Infecting from the Soil 231
Fungal Diseases of Stored Bulbs 240
Mycorrhizal Fungi 246
6
AGRONOMYANDCROPPRODUCTION 251
Onion Production 251
Seed Production 293
Garlic Production 299
Leek Production 300
Japanese Bunching Onion Production 306
Chive Production 307
Chinese Chives Production 307
7
CROPSTORAGEANDDORMANCY 309
Bulb Crop Storage and Dormancy 309
Garlic Dormancy and Storage 341
Leek Storage 342
Green Onion Storage 344
8
BIOCHEMISTRY, HEALTHBENEFITSANDFOODSCIENCE
OFALLIUMS 347
The Biochemistry of Flavour 347
Carbohydrate Biochemistry 356
Flavonoids 361
Medicinal Effects of Alliums 364
Processed Products from Alliums 370
REFERENCES 373
INDEX 413
The colour plate section can be found following p. 212
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P
REFACE
A number of people, including lecturers, researchers and seed company staff,
have told me that they found the first edition of this book useful. This is the
best reward for writing such a book. A lot of new allium science has been
published since the first edition and progress has been rapid, particularly in
the fields of genetics, plant breeding and plant pathology, where the
techniques of molecular biology have had great impact. So, an attempt at an
update was clearly worthwhile. Shortly before writing the first edition I had
co-edited the multi-author Onions and Allied Cropswith Haim Rabinowitch, so
up to date reviews by experts in the relevant science were to hand and
familiar to me. For this edition, I have had to resort more to the original
research literature, although the reviews by contributors to Rabinowitch and
Currah’s (2002) Allium Crop Science: Recent Advances were key sources for
many topics. A book of this breadth cannot attempt to be an exhaustive
review of the research literature and, inevitably, in choosing what research to
mention, there is some bias to what I am familiar with, notably towards work
from Wellesbourne, from the UK and what is published in English. I apologize
to those who have done interesting work which is not mentioned but,
nevertheless, I hope the book gives a reasonable overview of the current
scientific understanding about the vegetable alliums. I hope this second
edition will help to raise and maintain awareness of the huge and continuing
achievement of allium scientists in discovering so much fascinating and
useful information about these crops. These researchers are the real heroes
and heroines behind this book. I hope I have not misrepresented their work by
error, omission or misplaced emphasis.
The aim of the book is to introduce the scientific principles that underlie
production practices, rather than to give detailed instruction on how to
produce allium crops. If the crop technologist has an understanding of the
basic principles fundamental to his craft he/she should be better able to adapt
his/her methods to changing circumstances and opportunities, and better be
able to understand and cope with any abnormal or unusual problems that
he/she encounters. Understanding of principles should also improve his/her
ix
x Preface
judgement in deciding between possible alternative techniques. Furthermore,
the details of production methods change as new products, legislation or
market conditions arise, whereas the underlying principles remain true and
relevant, although of course our knowledge of principles improves and
increases as science progresses.
It may seem over-ambitious to cover the wide range of science closely
relevant to allium production, but one advantage of such an undertaking is
that it reveals connections between different aspects of the underlying science
and, sometimes, conflicts in the recommendations for practice coming from
them. Furthermore, the crop grower has to embody the integral of all the
underlying science in his/her production methods. The book is obviously
aimed at students and professionals with a special interest in the allium
vegetables, but I hope it might interest the occasional, more general, reader.
On my first day as an undergraduate agricultural student at Wye College, UK,
I remember the then Principal, Dunstan Skilbeck, remarking in his intro-
ductory talk to new students, that the studies they were about to embark on
were not only a source of practically applicable information but also offered a
‘window’ into many fields of knowledge; a possibility particularly well
provided for by broadly based courses like agriculture or horticulture. In a
more limited way, I hope that this book may serve not just as a source of some
rather specialist information on the production of alliums, but can chart a
path through many of the disciplines of plant science and show how they
connect and interrelate when it comes to application in crop technology. This
aspiration might not quite be on a par with William Blake seeing ‘a world in a
grain of sand’, but I hope readers will appreciate that one can see a lot of plant
science in an onion.
Crop production has its roots in a pre-scientific era when custom and
practice must have evolved ‘recipes’ for successfully growing crops. Slowly
this practical knowledge has become explained, improved and elaborated by
connection with the systematically organized and logically connected body of
scientific knowledge. There are successive phases in this scientific system-
atization. First there is observation, description and listing of phenomena.
Then there is an attempt to make generalizations and a search for principles
that unify a wide number of observations. This usually involves making
connections with information from outside the confines of the particular
phenomena being studied. If successful, some general principles emerge
which can be used to make predictions beyond the original observations. This
is when theory becomes not just interesting, but useful, and can begin to feed
new methods into production technology. With further advancement and
precision of knowledge it becomes possible to explain observations not just in
terms of some qualitative general principles, but in numerical terms, i.e. to
give quantities to predictions from theory which match subsequent measure-
ments. Such matching of quantitative prediction with observed measurement
has been the cornerstone of physical science since Newton’s time but, since