Why onion sets sprout poorly or do not grow at all: 7 reasons for crop failure

15.02.2023 17:05

Having chosen excellent onion sets for planting, summer residents count on an excellent harvest of onions, but often end up with nothing.

Even if you soak it 15 days before planting, then warm it up, it is not a fact that everything will end well. Here are several reasons explaining the failure.

Why onions sprout poorly or do not grow

1. The seeds were planted in unheated soil. Even if they sprout, the onion will soon shoot up.

2. After planting, the onion is watered with warm water, covered with film and wait for the shoots to appear. Then the cover is removed.

3. Incorrect watering can ruin the harvest. Usually, the plantings are watered once a day with warm water. But due to heavy rains or a flooded bed, the onion will not be able to ripen.

Hriadka onion
Photo: © Belnovosti

4. If you plant the bulbs in dense soil, and not in loose soil, then you can’t count on the result either.

5. This crop will not tolerate high soil acidity either. Aim for pH values of 6.4-7.9. Otherwise, add wood ash.

6. Excess nitrogen in the soil will lead to approximately the same consequences - to rotting. But even with its deficiency, onion feathers turn yellow and dry out.

7. Onions can be affected by fusarium wilt, one of the most common diseases. In this case, the development of the bulb stops and the plant dies.

Igor Zur Author: Igor Zur Internet resource editor