COMPARISON OF CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SELECTED CULTIVARS OF WHITE, YELLOW AND RED ONIONS

M. Gibczynska, M. Nawrocka-Pezik, G. Jurgiel-Malecka

Abstract: The analysed six onion cultivars (Allium cepa L.) cultivated in Poland were characterised by different colour of onion scale leaf: Albion and Alibaba (white cultivar), Grabowska and Majka (yellow cultivar), Scarlet and Wenta (red cultivar). The onion cultivars were obtained from the Experimental Station of Cultivars Testing in Węgrzce near Kraków. The following was determined for each cultivar: the content of macro- and micronutrients, reducing and total sugar, the vitamin C content. Significant differences in chemical composition between the analysed cultivars were found. The cultivars of the same colour exhibited similar tendencies in terms of accumulating the most of the analysed elements. The greatest differences in the chemical content were found among yellow and red cultivars. Yellow cultivars accumulated significantly greater amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc, copper and reducing sugar than red onion cultivars. Red onion cultivars contained significantly greater amounts of total sugar and vitamin C than yellow onion cultivars.

Keywords: macroelements; microelements; onion; reducing sugars; total sugars; vitamin C

Date published: 2017-09-15