Storability and Shelf Life of Shallot (Allium cepa L. var aggregatum) Genotypes Under Ambient Storage Conditions

Shallot (Allium cepa L. var. aggregatum) is an important bulb crop, and preferred for its culinary value in Ethiopia. However, significant postharvest losses occur due to the shortage of improved varieties with good storability. To address this, a study was conducted at Bishoftu Agricultural Research Center (BARC) to evaluate the storability and shelf life of thirty shallot genotypes. The bulbs were stored for four months under ambient conditions in a light diffused storage with wire-mesh and shelves. Treatments were arranged in a factorial CRD with two replications and data were analyzed using SAS 9.4 software. The shallot bulbs were evaluated at monthly intervals for up to four months for storability traits. The results revealed statistically significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) in storability traits among the genotypes. Based on the overall mean over storage period, DZSHT-12/90 had the lowest mean physiological weight loss (14.17%), and the highest cumulative physiological weight loss was observed in DZSHT-47-1B (20.60%). DZSHT-002/2007 showed the highest sprout loss (5.25%), and DZSHT-65-1/90, on the other hand, exhibited the lowest sprout loss of 1.28%. The highest and lowest rotting losses were recorded in DZSHT-251-1B/95 (5.74%) and DZSHT-101-1B-3 (2.80%), respectively. DZSHT-242-1-2 had the lowest mean rooting loss of 2.38%. DZSHT-009-2 had the lowest mean marketable bulb loss of 2.11%. In terms of total bulb loss, the check variety DZSHT-005/02, showed the lowest mean loss (24.77%) and the highest total loss was recorded in DZSHT-47-1B (37.81%). The highest mean value of dry matter content and total soluble solid were recorded in MINJAR (check) (14.42%) and DZSHT-005/02 (check) (14.45 °Brix) respectively. Generally, Shallot genotypes such as DZSHT-12/90, DZSHT-65-1/90, DZSHT-101-1B-3, DZSHT-009-2, DZSHT-005/02 and DZSHT-100-2-1 outperformed the other genotypes in almost all storability traits throughout the storage period.