PURDUE UNIVERSITY

Agricultural Experiment Station
Circular No. 57
LaFayette, Ind., September, 1916
COMMERCIAL ONION GROWING
C. B. Sayre
Prepared under the direction of C. G. Woodbury
SUMMARY
1.	Onions are grown very extensively on the muck soils of northern Indiana, the crop of 1914 amounting to 2,210,325 bushels.
2.	Good drainage is an important factor in selecting muck soil for profitable onion growing.
3.	Thorough preparation of the soil before planting is especially important in onion growing, many growers preferring to prepare the land in the fall. Rolling is of great value on the muck soil.
4.	Potash is the element most deficient in the non-acid muck, soils, and muriate of potash applied at the rate of 200 to 400 pounds per acre will give a very profitable increase in yield with normal prices.
5.	Acid phosphate at the rate of 300 to 400 pounds per acre can usually be applied profitably to the muck soil for onions. The acid muck soils are especially deficient in phosphorus, and larger amounts should be applied to these soils.
6.	Nitrate fertilizers can seldom be applied with profit to the muck soils.
7.	Lime can not be applied with profit except to the acid muck soils.
8.	Manure is the best all around fertilizer for onions, hut under normal conditions chemical fertilizers can he applied most economically to the muck soils. The manure should be well rotted.
9.	Onion seed should be sown in rows 12 to 14 inches apart at the rate of three and one-half to four pounds per acre as early in the spring as the ground can be worked.