Allium Crop Science

The Alliums are some of the most ancient cultivated crops and include onions, garlic, leeks and other related plants. This book provides an up-to-date review of Allium science for postgraduates and researchers. It contains commissioned chapters on topics that have shown major advances particularly in the last ten years such as molecular biology, floriculture and biofertilizers.

This fully revised, expanded and updated edition of the successful text, Onions and Other Vegetable Alliums, relates the production and utilization of these familiar and important vegetable crops to the many aspects of plant science underpinning their production and storage technologies. Chapters cover species and crop types, plant structure, genetics and breeding, physiology of growth and development as well as pests and diseases, production agronomy, storage after harvest and the biochemistry of flavour, storage carbohydrates and colour and how this relates to nutritional and health benefits. From this wide perspective it is possible to see many examples where underlying scientific knowledge illuminates, explains and can improve agronomic practice. The reader will get an insight into how molecular methods are revolutionizing the study of taxonomy, genetics, pathology and physiology and how these methods are being applied in the breeding of improved crops.

Originally published in 1990, Onions and Allied Crops, is a comprehensive account of the edible allium, examined across three volumes. The collection examines the major economic and dietary importance of edible alliums in most countries, and brings together contributions from experts across multiple disciplines, including food scientists, economists, agriculturalists and biochemists. These books address selection and breeding of locally adapted cultivars and the development of cultural techniques, allowing for cultivation across the tropics, to the sub-arctic regions. As such the collection examines the allium as a major agricultural asset and the impact this has had on many economies. These volumes will be of use and of interest to food scientists, economists, agriculturalists and biochemists alike.

First Published in 2018. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.

First Published in 2018. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.

Originally published in 1990, Onions and Allied Crops, is a comprehensive account of the edible allium, examined across three volumes. The collection examines the major economic and dietary importance of edible alliums in most countries, and brings together contributions from experts across multiple disciplines, including food scientists, economists, agriculturalists and biochemists. The books address selection and breeding of locally adapted cultivars and the development of cultural techniques, allowing for cultivation across the tropics, to the sub-arctic regions. As such the collection examines the allium as a major agricultural asset and the impact this has had on many economies. In this third volume, the analysis and focus is upon biochemistry, food science and minor crops. This volume will be of use and of interest to food scientists, economists, agriculturalists and biochemists alike.

The name "Allium" is said to come from the Greek word to avoid because of its offensive smell. The genus Allium includes more than 800 species of which only a few have been cultivated as foods. Many of the other members of this genus are popular with gardeners as easy to maintain perennials, although the smell of some members of the genus can be off-putting. The smell is a consequence of breakdown of sulfur-containing compounds which is a characteristic of this family of plants. Garlic, onions, leeks, chives and other members of the genus Allium occupy a unique position both as edible plants and herbal medicines, appreciated since the dawn of civilization. Alliums have been featured through the ages in literature, where they are both praised and reviled, as well as in architecture and the decorative arts. Garlic pills are top-selling herbal supplements while garlic-based products show considerable promise as environmentally friendly pesticides. The remarkable properties of the alliums can be understood based on the occurrence of a number of relatively simple sulfur-containing chemical compounds ingeniously packaged by nature in these plants. This unique book, with a foreword by 1990 Nobel Laureate E.J. Corey, outlines the extensive history and the fascinating past and present uses of these plants, sorting out fact from fiction based upon detailed scrutiny of historic documents as well as numerous laboratories studies. Readers will be entertained and educated as they learn about early cultivation of garlic and other alliums while being introduced to the chemistry and biochemistry. They will learn how alliums have been portrayed and used in literature, poetry, the arts and how alliums are featured in the world's oldest cookbook. Technical material is presented in a manner understandable to a general audience, particularly through the use of illustrations to simplify more difficult concepts and explain how experimental work is conducted. The book is heavily illustrated with examples of alliums in art, literature, agriculture, medicine and other areas and includes rare botanical drawings of many members of the genus Allium. Essential reading for anyone with a general interest in science, the book is written at a level accessible to experts and non-experts alike. It has sufficient additional detail and references to satisfy both those wanting to know more, as well as researchers in disciplines as diverse as archaeology, medicine, ecology, pharmacology, food and plant sciences, agriculture, and organic chemistry.

Allium crops include more than 30 species, many of which (for e.g. onions, shallots, garlic, leeks, bunching onions, and chives) are of economic importance. Bulb onions rank second only to tomatoes in terms of global production. Alliums are farmed and harvested in a range of climatic conditions worldwide, forming important parts of local diets. This book provides a comprehensive review of major and minor Allium crops from scientific and horticultural perspectives. It broadly covers modern biology (including genetics and breeding), propagation, production, processing, and nutritional and health benefits. This is an essential resource for scholars, researchers and students in plant science and agriculture, in addition to molecular biologists, plant breeders, agronomists, consultants, and extension specialists.