Onion Production

Onion Production

Dry onions are a crop that lends itself well to small-scale and part-time farming operations. Multiple markets exist for growers with small acreages, and the various colors and types of mature bulbs (red, yellow, and white) allow growers to find their market niche. The term "dry onion" is used to distinguish them from green onions, which are pulled while the tops are still green and usually before a large bulb has formed. Many field operations, such as land preparation, planting, and harvesting, can be custom hired, and most of the equipment for planting and harvest can be used for other crops.

The common dry onion (Allium cepa), a member of the Amaryllidaceae family, originated in mid-Asia in what is now northwestern India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It was reported in the sixteenth century that onions were among the most common vegetables used at that time. They occurred in red and white varieties and were sweet, strong, or intermediate in flavor. The onion was introduced by the Spanish into the West Indies soon after their discovery. From there, onions spread to all parts of the Americas and were grown by the earliest colonists and soon afterward by Native Americans. Relatives of onions include garlic, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and shallots. The United States harvests over 120,000 acres and produces almost 7 billion pounds of onions annually. In 2017, the Northeast produced over 8,000 acres of onions on over 3,000 farms.

Marketing

Fresh-market onions are available in the northeastern United States from the first of July to the end of October. They are traditionally sold loose in bulk containers or in mesh bags of various weights. Several marketing alternatives are available to the onion grower: wholesale markets, cooperatives, local retailers, and roadside stands, farmers markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA), pick-your-own operations, and processing firms. When planning production, first consider your ability and access to market. You should conduct some market research—growers often overestimate their ability to sell in a given market. Production of less than one acre of many vegetable crops is typical for most growers.

In wholesale marketing, producers often contract with shippers to market and ship the onions for a predetermined price. If you do not use a contractor and ship your onions to a wholesale market yourself, your product will be subject to the greatest price fluctuations. Marketing cooperatives generally use a daily pooled cost and price, which spreads price fluctuations over all participating producers. Local retailers are another possible market, but you must take the time to contact produce managers and provide good-quality onions when stores require them. Depending on your location, processors may or may not be a marketing option. Processors are less likely to contract with small-acreage growers (those with fewer than 5 acres). For more information on marketing, consult "Agricultural Alternatives: Fruit and Vegetable Marketing for Small-Scale and Part-Time Growers."

Retail marketing options include roadside stands (either your own or another grower's), farmers markets, CSA, and pick-your-own operations. These options can provide opportunities to receive higher-than-wholesale prices for your onions, but you may have some additional expenses for advertising, building and maintaining a facility, and providing service to your customers. With pick-your-own operations, you save on harvest costs, but you must be willing to accept some waste. Farmers markets are another retail option, but you should contact the markets well in advance of the marketing season to be sure space is available and to find out what requirements you must follow. For more information about roadside markets, see "Agricultural Alternatives: Developing a Roadside Farm Market."

Production Considerations

Onions should be grown on friable soils, which contain high amounts of organic matter and have good water infiltration rates and good moisture-holding capacity. The soil should not be compacted, and the pH should be 5.8 to 6.6. Sandy loams and muck soils are often used for onion production. For sweet Spanish onion production, soils with low sulfur levels (below 40 ppm) are recommended.

Variety Selection Bulbing of onions is primarily induced by photoperiod, or day length. Both long-day and intermediate-day onion varieties are recommended for the northeastern United States (Table 1). Onions are also classified by skin color (red, white, brown, or yellow), taste (sweet or pungent), and bulb shape (round, flat, or globe). Planting and Fertilization Onions can be started as transplants or sets. Transplants are seeded in the greenhouse 10 to 12 weeks prior to planting in the field. Because onions are a cool-season crop, they can be transplanted as early as mid-March. When producing transplants in the greenhouse, the plant tops should be trimmed to a height of 4 inches to produce a stout, sturdy transplant.

Growers generally plant 75,000 to 120,000 onions per acre in single rows with 2 inches between plants in the row and 24 inches between rows. For large sweet or Spanish onions, the in-row spacing would be 4 to 6 inches between plants. If you are not limited by equipment space restrictions, multiple (up to four) rows of onions can be planted on raised beds covered with black plastic mulch. In this case, two drip tapes are placed 2 inches beneath the soil to facilitate production and harvest operations. Providing your onions with drip irrigation ensures optimum plant growth and yields and provides the option to apply injection-based fertilizer during the growing season. For more information on drip irrigation, consult "Agricultural Alternatives: Drip Irrigation for Vegetable Production."

Fertilizer application rates should be based on an annual soil test. If you are unable to conduct a test (including a test for calcium), the recommended N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) application rates are 60-80-80 pounds per acre banded at planting or 120- 160-160 pounds per acre broadcast prior to planting. For sweet onions, a spring application (early May) of calcium or potassium nitrate should be side-dressed at 100 pounds per acre.

Pest Management

Weed management can be achieved with herbicides, cultivation, and a good crop rotation system. Several preplant and postemergence herbicides are available for onions, depending on the specific weed problem and the stage of onion growth. If infestation levels are mild, early cultivation can minimize weed problems.

Insects can be a major problem in onion production. Onion maggots and thrips have the potential to reduce or destroy crops in any given year. Allium leafminer is a new invasive insect that is being found increasingly in onions in Pennsylvania. Monitoring insect populations will help you determine when you should use pesticides and how often you should spray.

Several onion diseases can cause crop losses, especially downy mildew, purple blotch, and white rot.

Many of these diseases can be prevented by using a good crop rotation system, high-quality soil with good air drainage, and disease-resistant onion varieties. Many of the pesticides necessary for onion production are restricted-use pesticides and require a pesticide license to purchase. Pesticide applicator tests are usually administered at extension offices; contact your local office for dates and times. When using any pesticides in your enterprise, remember to follow all label recommendations regarding application rates and personal protection equipment requirements. Also remember that worker protection standards apply to both owner and employees.

Harvest and Storage

Most dry onions are usually harvested when one-third to one-half of the tops have fallen over. Bulbs are generally pulled from the soil after being loosened with a disk. They are then topped approximately 1 inch above the bulb. To prevent rot organisms from entering the bulb, onions must be adequately cured (drying of the cut top or neck area) in the field, in open shade, or by artificial means before being placed in storage. Curing may require two to four weeks, depending on weather conditions. In high humidity and wet regions, onions are usually removed from the field for curing. To ensure you are marketing a high-quality product, grade onions by size and color and check them for insect damage. Onions that are maintained at 32°F and 65 to 70 percent relative humidity can be stored for approximately one to eight months, depending on variety.

*All are hybrids except 'Ebenezer' and 'Southport Red Globe'.

Environmental Regulations

All agricultural operations in Pennsylvania, including small-scale and part-time farming enterprises, operate under the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law. A specific part of this law is the Nutrient Management Act. Portions of the act may or may not pertain to your operation, depending on whether you have livestock on your farm. However, all operations may be a source of surface water or groundwater pollution. Because of this possibility, you should contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District to determine what regulations may pertain to your operation.

Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP) are voluntary programs that you may wish to consider for your operation. The idea behind these programs is to ensure a safer food system by reducing the chances for foodborne illnesses resulting from contaminated products reaching consumers. Several major food distribution chains are beginning to require GAP- and GHP-certified products from their producers. These programs set standards for worker hygiene, use of manure, and water supply quality.

These practices require an inspection from a designated third party, and there are fees associated with the inspection. Prior to an inspection, you will need to develop and implement a food safety plan and designate someone in your operation to oversee this plan. You will need to have any water supply used by your workers or for crop irrigation and pesticide application checked at least twice each year. A checklist of the questions to be asked during the inspection can be found online. For more information about GAP and GHP, contact your local extension office or state department of agriculture.

You may also be impacted by the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA), administered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FSMA governs record keeping, health and hygiene, water quality, and animal waste used as fertilizer, among additional requirements. For more information about FSMA, visit the Penn State Extension article called Food Safety Modernization Act - Produce Safety Rule.

Risk Management

You should carefully consider how to manage risk on your farm. First, you should insure your facilities and equipment. This may be accomplished by consulting your insurance agent or broker. It is especially important to have adequate levels of property, vehicle, and liability insurance. You will also need workers compensation insurance if you have any employees. You may also want to consider your needs for life and health insurance and if you need coverage for business interruption or employee dishonesty. For more on agricultural business insurance, see "Agricultural Alternatives: Agricultural Business Insurance."

Second, check to see if there are multi-peril crop insurance programs available for your crop or livestock enterprises. There are crop insurance programs designed to help farmers manage both yield risk and revenue shortfalls. However, individual crop insurance coverage is not available for all crops. If individual coverage is not available for what you grow, you may be able to use the Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) program to insure the revenue of your entire farm operation. Information from your Schedule F tax records (or a "Substitute Schedule F for WFRP Purposes" if you do not file a Schedule F) from the past five consecutive years is used to calculate the WFRP policy's approved revenue guarantee. Operations that have expanded over time may be allowed to increase the approved revenue amount based on an indexing procedure. Depending on the number of commodities grown, you have the choice of coverage of 50 to 85 percent of your approved revenue. Coverage and premium costs depend on the level of diversification in your operation; the maximum level of insured revenue is $8.5 million (based on maximum adjusted gross revenues of $17 million and the 50 percent coverage level). WFRP also provides replant coverage if it is not already covered under an underlying individual crop policy. More information on WFRP can be found online.

Finally, the USDA Farm Service Agency has a program called the Noninsured Assistance Program (NAP) that is designed to provide a minimal level of yield risk protection for producers of commercial agricultural products that don't have multi-peril crop insurance coverage. NAP is designed to reduce financial losses when natural disasters cause catastrophic reduction in production. A basic level of coverage (50 percent of expected production at 55 percent of the average market price) is available for a fee of $325 per crop per county (fees are capped at $825 per producer per county, but not to exceed a total of $1,950 for producers growing crops in multiple counties). Higher levels of protection at the 50, 55, 60, and 65 percent levels at 100 percent of the average market price are available for additional premium. NAP coverage is available through your local USDA Farm Service Agency office. The application fee for this program may be waived for eligible limited-resource farmers.

Sample Budget

Included in this publication is a sample fresh-market onion plasticulture production budget. This budget utilizes custom hire for most of the field work, which could be more economical for a smaller acreage. If you have your own equipment, substitute your costs for the custom-hire costs. The budget summarizes the receipts, costs, and net returns of an onion enterprise. This sample budget should help ensure that all costs and receipts are included in your calculations. Costs and returns are often difficult to estimate in budget preparation because they are numerous and variable. Therefore, you should think of this budget as an approximation and make appropriate adjustments in the "Your Estimate" column to reflect your specific production and resource situation. These budgets are developed for one acre; however, your scale of production should be based on your market considerations. More information on the use of crop budgets can be found in "Agricultural Alternatives: Enterprise Budget Analysis."

You can make changes to the interactive PDF budget files for this publication by inputting your own prices and quantities in the green outlined cells for any item. The cells outlined in red automatically calculate your revised totals based on the changes you made to the cells outlined in green. You will need to click on and add your own estimated price and quantity information to all of the green outlined cells to complete your customized budget. When you are done, you can print the budget using the green Print Form button at the bottom of the form. You can use the red Clear Form button to clear all the information from your budget when you are finished.

Sample Budget Worksheet

• Sample Onion Budget

Initial Resource Requirements

Land: 1 acre

Labor: 10 hours

Harvest labor: 200 hours

Production costs: $8,000-10,000

Capital: $600-800

Equipment:

• Tractor
• Mulch layer
• Irrigation system
• Boom sprayer

For More Information

Barbercheck, M. E., C. E. Thomas, et al. Vegetable Integrated Pest Management with an Emphasis on Biocontrol. PA IPM Program (Penn State Extension and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture), 2015.

Dunn, J. W., J. W. Berry, L. F. Kime, R. M. Harsh, and J. K. Harper. "Agricultural Alternatives: Developing a Roadside Farm Market." University Park: Penn State Extension, 2006.

Dunn, J. W., J. K. Harper, and L. F. Kime. "Agricultural Alternatives: Fruit and Vegetable Marketing for Small-Scale and Part-Time Growers." University Park: Penn State Extension, 2009.

Gross, K. C., C. Y. Wang, and M. Saltveit. The Commercial Storage of Fruits and Nursery Stocks. USDA-ARS Agricultural Handbook Number 66. Washington, D.C.: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 2004.

Gugino, B., et al. Identifying Diseases of Vegetables. University Park: Penn State Extension, 1994.

Harper, J. K., S. Cornelisse, L. F. Kime, and J. Hyde. "Agricultural Alternatives: Budgeting for Agricultural Decision Making." University Park: Penn State Extension, 2019.

Jeavons, J. How to Grow More Vegetables. 8th ed. New York: Ten Speed Press, 2012.

Kelley, K. M., L. F. Kime, and J. K. Harper. "Agricultural Alternatives: Community Supported Agriculture." University Park: Penn State Extension, 2013.

Kime, L. F., J. A. Adamik, J. K. Harper, and C. Dice. "Agricultural Alternatives: Agricultural Business Insurance." University Park: Penn State Extension, 2019.

Lamont, W. J. Jr., J. K. Harper, A. R. Jarrett, M. D. Orzolek, R. M. Crassweller, K. Demchak, and G. L. Greaser. "Agricultural Alternatives: Irrigation for Fruit and Vegetable Production." University Park: Penn State Extension, 2001.

Lamont, W. J. Jr., M. D. Orzolek, J. K. Harper, L. F. Kime, and A. R. Jarrett. "Agricultural Alternatives: Drip Irrigation for Vegetable Production." University Park: Penn State Extension, 2012.

Maynard, D. M., and G. J. Hochmuth. Knott's Handbook for Vegetable Growers. 5th ed. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley and Sons, 2006.

Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association. 815 Middle Road, Richfield, PA 17086.

Wyenandt, C. A., et.al. 2020–2021 Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Recommendations.

Authors

Revised by Elsa Sánchez, professor of horticultural systems management; Thomas Ford, former extension educator; Lynn F. Kime, former senior extension associate in agricultural economics; Jayson K. Harper, professor of agricultural economics; Michael D. Orzolek, professor emeritus of horticulture; and R. Matthew Harsh and Chesley Farms

This publication was developed by the Small-scale and Part-time Farming Project at Penn State with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Extension Service.