It is time for irrigation and sowing. Growers in Castile-León are already preparing the land and planting the first onions; a crop that has "stabilised" in recent years, with about 1,700 hectares, and which has recorded a notable development since its beginnings, as highlighted by Andrés Albertos Martín, technical director of the Segovian cooperative Glus-I.
According to data from the Council of Agriculture corresponding to the latest campaign, the province of Valladolid leads the regional rankings when it comes to acreage, with a little over 700 hectares, almost half of the region's total. It is followed by Segovia, with 220 hectares; Ávila, with 214; Zamora, with 149 hectares and Burgos, with 134. In the rest of the region, the presence of this vegetable is rather nominal. Albertos estimates that, of the total planted in Castile-Leon, more than a thousand hectares correspond to Grano or Valencian onions, and about 500 hectares to onions intended for dehydration. The Glus-I cooperative actually manages half of the hectares planted with crops intended for processing in the region, a production which is fully monitored from planting to delivery and which is covered by a contract.
The cooperative produces for an Extremadura-based company that has McDonalds as one of its main customers. It is good to know that the white onions used in the hamburgers sold by this powerful American chain are also supplied by Castile-León.
Onions for dehydration offer lower average yields than Grano onions, although this difference is offset by the price, which is marked by its volatility, as is the case with other vegetables, such as potatoes. Last season, the onions for processing reached a price of 163 Euro per tonne, while the price of Grano onions amounted to around 100 Euro per tonne.
Onions are a profitable option compared to other crops, as stated by the technical director of Glus. The highest expenditure is on irrigation, accounting for about 18% of the total (700 Euro per hectare of irrigation water and energy for an average consumption of about 6,000 m3/ha), followed by the harvesting, with 11.25%, phytosanitary products, with 10.30% (412 Euro per hectare) and fertilizers, with about 9% (331 Euros per hectare).
The onion sowing and cultivation has a similar cycle to that of beets, meaning it is a long cycle with harvesting in mid-September. Onions are one of the most extended vegetables in Castile-Leon, only behind potatoes and at a similar level to garlic, carrots and green peas.
Producers are still committed to research to fight the diseases that can affect the production; a commitment led by Asoprofit, the Association for the Protection of Leek, Carrot and Onion in Castile-León, which is developing a four-year project together with Itacyl this campaign to control and identify the vectors of the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter, which is responsible for the disease.
Source: elcorreodeburgos.com
