When onions appeared in Russia, it is not known for certain. However, it is undoubted that no table in our country can do without it; it is used in most dishes. Traditional medicine widely uses it for medicinal purposes. Onions treat scurvy - the main scourge of the northern regions of the country, colds, boils, gout, rheumatism and many other ailments. Growing vegetables, preventing pests and ensuring the necessary storage conditions until the next harvest are important tasks for amateur gardeners and agricultural enterprises.
Onion diseases can be caused as bad external factors, and the attack of pests, among which can be distinguished onion fly. This insect most often affects the culture. Pupae safely survive the winter in the soil at a depth of 10-20 centimeters. Upon the arrival of spring, onion fly females leave their burrows and lay eggs on the soil at the onion sowing sites. The appeared larvae penetrate the bulb itself and feed on its flesh. As a result, it rots, the foliage dries and turns yellow. And the larvae grow and lay the next offspring of pupae.
If onion diseases caused by this insect were observed, it is recommended not to plant the crop in the same place more often than every three to four years. It is impossible immediately to plant manure and nitrogen fertilizers in the soil. Work should be carried out in early spring. The use of chemicals in the processing of onions is undesirable. In summer, the land around the crop can be cultivated by sprinkling it with a mixture of tobacco and lime dust (one to one), ash (at the rate of 2 kg per 10 sq.m.), a mixture of naphthalene and sand (in equal amounts), peat. Onion diseases caused by onion flies can be tried by spraying, but this is a rather laborious and frequent procedure. In 10 liters of water, 300 grams of table salt is diluted, with this solution each plant is watered under the root, trying not to get on the leaves. If this happens, immediately rinse with fresh water. Wait 3 hours and treat the entire site clean. This procedure is repeated after 10 days, making the solution richer: 400 grams of salt per 10 liters. All the negative effects of the insect leading to onion disease will recede.
Another problem of vegetable culture is downy mildew - bacterial infection. It overwinter in the bulb, and with the planting of seed, it begins its development. To avoid such a misfortune, it is necessary to store onions in the winter in a warm, dry room with good ventilation. When planting, carefully sort the seed, selecting healthy strong bulbs. False powdery mildew is manifested by spots on the vegetable, gradually they increase in size and acquire a grayish tint. If such bulbs fall into the ground, then the leaves at the beginning seedlings turn yellow, then break down, and the peduncles wilt. The infection spreads to the entire crop area, which inevitably leads to the death of the entire crop. Therefore, one must carefully monitor the quality of the material, the absence of signs of onion disease. Only in this case is it possible to avoid downy mildew, which is considered the most dangerous for the cultivated vegetable, capable of destroying the work of both an amateur gardener and an agricultural enterprise.
Observance of the necessary conditions for growing and storage, timely measures to prevent the death of the crop will allow you to grow healthy and strong bulbs.