As principais
MAINVEGETABLES
TWO PROFILES
The production of onions involves small and medium scale farmers in the South and Northeast, while in São Paulo and Cerrado regions commer-
cial farmers grow this vegetable crop. The regions also differ as far as the use of technology goes. Traditional open-pollinated varieties, of an up to 170
day cycle, are grown in the South. In the Cerrado regions, São Paulo and parts in the Northeast, the option is for short-cycle crops (120 to 130 days).
Agronomist Daniel Schmitt, from Epagri, clarifies that direct-seeding prevails in the Cerrado cultivations, with hybrid varieties and central pivot ir-
rigation. “This region takes advantage of intense luminosity, and yields sometimes reach up to 100 tons per hectare”, he notes. In the South, only a re-
duced number of farmers rely on irrigation, the climate is colder and wet, triggering disease outbreaks. Furthermore, hybrids do not adapt properly to
such conditions; with traditional varieties and scarce luminosity, productivity rarely exceeds 50 tons per hectare.
Post-harvest losses
could reach 50% in the
State of Santa Catarina
Inor Ag. Assmann
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