Diversifying the areas of production in northern India along with drip irrigation and better storage technology can help avert dynamic fluctuations in the onion trade. Examine (200 Words)
Refer - Financial Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
Chinna 5 years
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IAS Parliament 5 years
Good attempt. Keep Writing.
IAS Parliament 5 years
KEY POINTS
· Kharif and late-kharif onions have a short shelf-life. They last for about a month after harvest. About a quarter of the annual supply comes from the kharif crop, and 80% of it is from Maharashtra and Karnataka. Disruption of supply from these two states has a ripple effect across the country.
· Heavy and prolonged rain damaged the transplanted seedlings and also destroyed late kharif nurseries.
· Spreading the production of onions across the country and close to the places of consumption can help avert such situations.
· The sandy loam of the Indo-Gangetic Plain is just right for onions as it drains well. Flooding is an issue for which he recommends raised-bed planting. A drive, thus, to encourage production in this belt could check onion price fluctuations.
· Better storages will also help. Currently, onions are stored at ambient temperature in raised floor structures with side slats (for ventilation) and asbestos roofs.
· These are low-cost storages, which the Maharashtra government subsidises. In open ventilated storages, losses can be as high as 30-40% or even more, depending on the outside temperature and relative humidity.
· Onions last longer in cold storages, but sprout when kept in the open, unless irradiated.
· The package of practices it has developed including planting on raised beds (ridges) and use of drip irrigation can improve yields.
· There are a set of farming practices to improve durability including lesser use of nitrogen, maintaining moisture during dry spells, and stopping irrigation a fortnight before harvesting.
Vendhan 5 years
Tn ku
IAS Parliament 5 years
Try to elaborate about why north Indian plains best suited for onion. Keep Writing.
