ASSOCIATION OF FRUCTANS WITH HIGH PERCENTAGE DRY-WEIGHT IN ONION CULTIVARS SUITABLE FOR DEHYDRATING

As the percentage dry weight of bulbs of different onion cultivars increased, the fructan content also increased. The higher percentage dry weight cultivars also contained higher concentrations of higher molecular weight fructans. The percentage dry weight and non‐structural carbohydrate content increased from the outer to the inner leaf bases of the bulbs of all cultivars. In low, medium and high percentage dry weight cultivars non‐structural carbohydrate represents a fairly constant 87, 83 and 88% of dry weight, respectively. This constant percentage implied that dry weight differences should be assigned to differences in water content. Copyright © 1979 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd