ABSTRACT
Rakkyo (Allium chinense G. Don, Allium bakeri Rgl.) is a perennial herb belonging to the Alliceae. The rakkyo bulb is elliptical in shape, 2 to 4 cm long, with a tapering top where the leaves are easily recognized. Rakkyo bulbs are usually harvested once a year in August to September following the withering and death of the leaves and after the bulbs become dormant. The blades grow to a certain extent while the sheaths are thickening, so that the shape of the rakkyo bulb is not globular but oval. Rakkyo multiplies by forming lateral buds within the mother bulb, from planting time in August until December. I. Sato and K. Tanabe investigated the change in the mineral content of rakkyo with growth. Chlorosis is one of the major physiological diseases of rakkyo and was described in detail by T. Yanagawa et al.
