ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Onion, one of the oldest vegetable crops known to man (1), is a popular vegetable worldwide. It is valued for its distinctive pungent flavor and is an essential ingredient of the cuisine of many regions (2). It is used in both immature and mature bulb stages as a vegetable and spice as well as food for cattle and poultry (3). Onions can be eaten raw or cooked; mild-flavored or colorful bulbs are often chosen for salads. Onions have many uses as folk remedies, and recent reports suggest that onions play a part in preventing heart disease and other ailments (4-6). The world production of onion is summarized in Table 1. China, India, CIS, the United States, Turkey, Japan, and Spain are the major producers of onions. The total world production of onions in 1993 was estimated to be 26.0 million tons (7). The major exporters of onion are India, Mexico, the United States, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, and Chile, whereas Malaysia, United Arab Republic, Canada, Japan, Lebanon, and Kuwait are the major importers.
