The Harvest Season Changes the Organoleptic Properties of Onion during Storage

Abstract

Aims: The objective was to determine the influence of the onion harvest time "Baia Periforme" on post-harvest quality of the bulbs during storage. Study Design: The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with three treatments, six replicates with two bulbs each. Place and Duration of Study: Departamento de Fitotecnia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, between June 2017 and July 2018. Methodology: Seedlings, 20 days old, were transplanted into 20 cm spacing between rows and 10 cm between plants. The bulbs were harvested 120 days after transplanting with manual tipping of the pseudo-stem (T1), with 50 (T2) or 75% (T3) of the bulbs popped. The soluble sugars (SS), non-reducing sugars (NRS), reducing sugars (RS), total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity of phenolic compounds and alinase activity was determined every 30 days for 90 days. Results: The content of SS, TSS, phenolic compounds and alinase activity increased in the onions of T2, resulting in more sweet and pungent bulbs due to the higher content of acidity and phenolic compounds. Conclusion: The post-harvest quality of onion bulbs "Baia Periforme" was maintained when they were harvested with 50% of bulbs popped.