What are the reasons for high-yield green onions? You'll understand after reading this

All along, allium vegetables have occupied an extremely important position in China's vegetable production. According to statistics, the cultivation area of allium vegetables accounts for 10% of China's total vegetable sowing area, and their output accounts for 7% of total vegetable production. Moreover, onions are highly adaptable: whether on residents' rooftops or in their yards, in farmers' fields, or on small balconies at home, green onions can be grown. Today, we mainly discuss how farmers can grow green onions and how to achieve high yields.

In fact, the planting density of green onions varies completely depending on the variety, the cultivation method, and the product requirements. A reasonable planting density for green onions can effectively improve their marketability and yield. Below, we share some planting experience for several common types of green onions.

For green onion types with a tall white stalk, it is best to use sparse planting during cultivation; on the contrary, for green onion types with a short white stalk, dense planting should be used during cultivation. This is one of the most basic rules of green onion cultivation. So how exactly should they be planted? Please keep reading.

I. Trench cultivation of green onions

For green onion varieties with a tall white stalk, the trench spacing should be 80 to 100 cm. If too narrow, it is not conducive to hilling during planting; if too wide, land use is unreasonable, affecting the yield per unit area of green onions. About 18,000 to 22,000 plants can be planted per mu. For green onion types with a short white stalk, the trench spacing can be appropriately reduced to 50 to 70 cm, and about 22,000 to 28,000 plants can be planted per mu.

II. Bed cultivation of small green onions

Compared with large green onions, small green onions are generally grown in flat beds in rows or in clumps. For row planting, the row spacing is 20 cm and the plant spacing is 3 to 5 cm, and 60,000 to 80,000 onions can be planted per mu; for clump planting, the clump spacing is 20 cm, with 3 to 5 plants per clump being best.

Besides grasping the planting spacing, the amount and method of fertilization are also important factors affecting green onion yield. How should fertilization be done to increase green onion yield? Below we introduce this from two aspects: fertilization amount and fertilization principles.

I. Fertilization amount for green onions

Generally, under high-yield conditions, green onions can reach 5000-6000 kg/mu, so green onions have a high demand for nutrients. Under normal circumstances, every 1000 kg of green onions produced requires 2.7-3.3 kg of pure nitrogen, 0.5-0.6 kg of phosphorus pentoxide, and 3.3-4.0 kg of potassium oxide. The absorption ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is 1:0.4:1.3, and they are very sensitive to potassium and nitrogen nutrition. 

II. Fertilization principles for green onions 

During green onion cultivation, if potassium fertilizer is not applied or is applied sparingly, the content of available potassium in the soil will drop significantly, and the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium will become seriously imbalanced, leading to intensified pests and diseases in green onions, reduced yield, poorer quality, and lower economic benefits from growing green onions. In fact, potassium fertilizer can promote the growth of green onions and improve their resistance to pests and diseases. Potassium deficiency in green onions results in slow growth and development, short plants, short white stalks, and low yield. After years of trials, after applying potassium fertilizer, green onion yield increased by 22.3%-28.2%, vitamin C content increased by 7.20%-16.0%, soluble sugar content increased relatively by 15.5% and 12.7%, and nitrate content decreased by 22.6% and 26.5%; income increased by 1690-2000 yuan per mu, and the output-to-input ratio of applying potassium fertilizer reached as high as 72.42 and 40.67:1. The balanced fertilization technology for green onions centered on supplemental potassium fertilizer covered an area of more than 35,000 mu, with an average yield increase of about 20%. In the process of fertilizing green onions, attention should be paid to the principle of balanced fertilization. Balanced fertilization can increase the content of vitamin C and soluble sugar in green onions, reduce the content of harmful substances such as nitrate, and improve the internal and external quality of green onions. More importantly, balanced fertilization has an extremely significant effect on increasing green onion yield.

The above is a summary of experience from four aspects: variety, planting method, fertilization amount, and fertilization method. It is mainly aimed at green onions grown by farmers and how to achieve high yields, and we hope it can provide some help and reference for growers who intend to start growing green onions or are already growing them.