Influence of size of onion bulb cv. 'Czerniakowska' on its dormancy, sprouting and rooting

Abstract

Sprouting and rooting of onion bulb explants (bulbs deprived of open and closed shells) and of whole onion bulbs of three sizes, horizontal diameters: 2.5-3.5 cm, 3.6-5.0 cm, 5.1-7.0 cm were studied. During storage the earliest sprouting and rooting of bulb explants and of the whole onion bulbs was observed in small bulbs of diameters: 2.5-3.5, and the latest in large bulbs of 5.1-7.0 cm. The longer the period of storage the larger the amount of sprouted and rooted bulb explants and whole bulbs, At the same time differences in the rate of sprouting and rooting in small and large onion bulbs were diminishing. In bulb explants, sprouting and rooting appeared much earlier and in a larger number than in whole onion bulbs. However, bulb explants of large bulbs generally had more leaves than those of small onion bulbs.