PRODUCTION AND MARKETING PRACTICES OF BUNCHING ONION (Allium Fistulosum L.) FARMERS IN PANGIL, LAGUNA

and be with applicable trainings and assistance by concerned agencies and entities in order to improve their status and productivity. The questionnaire is written in Filipino. A combination of close and open-ended question was used to gather necessary information regarding the production and marketing practices of the bunching onion farmers. The questionnaires have four parts where first part contains the demographic profile of the respondents, second and third part is about the production management and marketing practices of bunching onion farmers, and the last part pertains to the problems encountered in the production and marketing of bunching onion in their areas as well as the possible solutions that may be implemented to resolve the difficulties being faced by the producers of bunching onion. Interview schedule started from May to June 2016. Selected respondents from Pangil, Laguna and all located Onion producer available in the area was interviewed. For their responses, respondents were given the following 5-point rating scale in the last part of questioner and the corresponding verbal interpretation in frequency and extent of problems encountered of onion farmers.

Bunching onion cultivation is becoming a popular enterprise in the 4 th District of Laguna. A survey was conducted to evaluate the production and marketing practices of bunching onion farmers in Pangil, Laguna. A total of 200 managers and caretakers of bunching onion farms in the study area were identified through purposive sampling. Questionnaire with a combination of close and open-ended questions was used in the interview. Chi-Square was used for testing the correlation and association.Results show that majority of the respondents, who have an average age of 51 years, indicate that bunching onion production is their primary source of income and they have been in farming for no less than 15 years. Less than 50% of the respondents have an average farm size of .5 hectare and majority of them are tenants. Most of the producers were not able to go beyond secondary education and majority, and has no affiliation to any farmers' organization. Also, majority of the respondents have not attended any seminar on bunching onion production.Apart from the demographic profile, the respondents' production and operation management of their bunching onion farms were documented. Marketing management, which includes pricing and selling, was recorded. Results reveal that both growers and viajeros are the ones who decide on the price of bunching onions.Based on the data, an average income of Php 436,450.00 can be earned from .5 hectare in one cropping. Return on Sales (ROS) of 90.93% shows that every peso earned from the sale of the product there is a corresponding Php 0.91 centavos net return. Return on Investment (ROI) of 10.02% shows that for every Php 1.00 invested there is a corresponding Php 0.10 centavos net return.The study revealed that the level of yield and profit per hectare per cycle isinfluenced by the educational attainment, household size, and farm size, but are not influenced by age of the respondents. The major problems of the bunching onion farmers are the high price of seeds, insufficient capital, insect pests and diseases. Data revealed that growing bunching onions is profitable and a considerable income can be obtained in 2 to 3 months. Conduct of similar studies on bunching onion production in other towns is recommended to compare the profitability and the practices. Encouraging the farmers to practice companion cropping or any cropping system with higher biodiversity on order to enhance productivity per unit area is likewise recommended. Further, the bunching onion farmers must be organized It is also commonly known as Welsh onion, green onion, Japanese bunching onion, spring onion, scallion, and salad onion. The species are very similar in taste and odor to the related garden onion, Allium cepa, and hybrids between the two exist. Bunching onion does not form a real bulb and possesses fistulosum leaves. Oriental bunching onion has a green leaf portion and a long blanched white stalk portion. The blanched portion can be from a few inches to 20 inches, depending on the varieties. The long-stalk onions are blanched by earthling up during growth. Plants can be harvested for vegetable use at any growing stage. Many Bunching onions can multiply by forming perennial evergreen clumps.(PCARRD), 2013) Hence, this study was conducted in order to determine the production and marketing strategies employed by the respondent, to analyze the financial status of farmers engaged in bunching onion production, to determine the significant relationship between the level of profitability and demographic profile of the respondents, and to determine the problems encountered in bunching onions production and suggest possible solution.
The Oriental uses of this onion are being used almost daily in the cooking to bring out the sweet and delicious flavor of stir-fry food and soup mostly in Asian, especially in East and Southeast Asia. The long-stalk onions are very tender and well flavored, excellent for stir-fry, sukiyaki, tempura and many Japanese dishes. In Russia, these are commonly added to salad, while in the Philippines, these are used as spices in many Filipino dishes. Aside from culinary use, it is also grown in a bunch as an ornamental plant. Bunching onion is said to reduce or prevent white ant infestation in gardens. In China, diluted pressed juice of bunching is being used as biopesticides against aphids. In addition, the therapeutic qualities attributed to bunching onion are many, especially in Chinese medicine, where it is known to improve eyesight and promote longevity. It is also believed to enhance metabolism, and the function of internal organs. It is further reported to enhance recovery from common colds, headaches, wounds and festering sores. The bunching onions are mostly being planted in a cool climate, but can also grow in areas without extremes of heat, cold and excessive rainfall. Since this is a shallow rooted crop, soils with high inorganic matter give much better results, unless irrigation is available. (Delbert Hemphill, 2012.) Green bunching onions are known by several names depending on the region of the country. Some of the names used are "scallions," "green onions," and "spring onions". All these terms can be used for immature onions, but in reality, it is called the "green bunching onion" of commerce that one purchases in the store in the Northwest. Today, it is most likely a different species from that of the bulb onion. Green onions today are most often called Allium fistulosum, which is further classified into four taxonomic groups. (Rabinowitch and D. Brewster, 2011)

Methods and Materials:-
This study utilized the descriptive-survey method of research thatis suitable wherever the subjects vary among themselves and one is interested to know the extent to which different condition and situation are detained among these subjects. It also signifies the gathering of data regarding present conditions. A survey is useful in providing the value of facts and focusing attention on the most important things to be reported (Calmorin2007).
This research was conducted at Pangil, Laguna. The bunching onion farmers served as the respondents in this study. Purposive sampling under non-probability sampling was used in different Barangays of Pangil, Laguna. Purposive sampling determines the target populationand the total population to be interviewed by the researcher. The area was comprised of 200 respondents who are manager or caretakers of the production and marketing of bunching onion. Those who was involved in the study were chosen in basis of their knowledge of the information desired and needed by the researcher. Questionnaires was prepared for gathering necessary data in conducting this study.

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The questionnaire is written in Filipino. A combination of close and open-ended question was used to gather necessary information regarding the production and marketing practices of the bunching onion farmers. The questionnaires have four parts where first part contains the demographic profile of the respondents, second and third part is about the production management and marketing practices of bunching onion farmers, and the last part pertains to the problems encountered in the production and marketing of bunching onion in their areas as well as the possible solutions that may be implemented to resolve the difficulties being faced by the producers of bunching onion. Interview schedule started from May to June 2016. Selected respondents from Pangil, Laguna and all located Onion producer available in the area was interviewed. For their responses, respondents were given the following 5point rating scale in the last part of questioner and the corresponding verbal interpretation in frequency and extent of problems encountered of onion farmers. The descriptive tools used in the study were average, frequency, percentage, and rank. Data was tabulated and statistically analyzedusing Minitab software17. It was then organized, presented and analyzed using simple statistical tools such as mean, percentage, frequency and chi-square and correlation to test the relationship. The yield and income were expressed on per hectare basis and then tested the relationship with the demographic and business variables with the use of simple correlation. The profitability of the business was determined by data gathered.using profitability ratio such as return on investment (ROI) and return on sales (ROS). The formulas were as follows:

Raw
Return on Sales Return on Investment: ROS = __Net Income x 100 ROI = ___Net Income x 100 Total Sales Total Expenses

Results and Discussion:-
This section presents the distribution of the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of their age, gender, civil status, residence, family size, educational attainment, other source of income, and organizational affiliation. Table 1 presents the distribution of the respondents by age. Majority of the respondents' age ranged from 51 to 57 years old which has a frequency of 40 while few has age ranging from 28 to 36 years old which has a frequency of 13.5. The mean age of respondents is 29.6 years. On the distribution of the respondents by gendershowed that the majority of the respondents are male which has frequency of 99 while the remaining are female which has a frequency of 49. As to the distribution of the respondents by civil status revealed that the majority of the respondents are married which has a frequency of 132 (89%), seven (7) were single, six (6) are widow/widower and three (3) were separated. For the distribution of the respondents by residence, respondents were distributed from different barangays but the highest numbers were from the Barangay Sulib, which has a frequency of 51 (34.5%). On the distribution of the respondents by family size, majority of the respondents have family members ranging from 1 to 3 which has a frequency of 83 while the least have family member ranging from 13 to 14 which has a frequency of 2.
The distribution of the respondents by educational attainment showed that majority are secondary level which has a frequency of 71(48%) while the College level having frequency of 43(29%) and elementary level with frequency of 34(23%) educational attainment.
For the other source of income, majority of the respondents have no other source of income which has frequency of 62 (42%) while frequency of 28(19%) respondents involved in driving and 21 (14%) are engaged in fishing.  Table 6 Table 6:-Distribution of the respondents by organizations there are affiliated. Table 7 presents the distribution of the respondents by farming experience. Data show that most of the respondents have farming experience ranging from 20 to 22 years which has a frequency of 33, while the fewest have farming experience ranging from 1 to 5 with frequency of 10 (8 %). Table 7:-Distribution of the respondents by farming experience. Table 8 shows the distribution of the respondents by farm size. Data revealed that the majority of the respondents have a farm size ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 square hectares which has a frequency of 86, while few of them have farm size ranging from 0.6 to 0.8 square hectares with frequency of 8 (5.4%).

Number of Labor/s
Most of the respondents have no hired laborer, which has a frequency of 73 (49%) while few have a frequency of 4 (3%). Hiring of laborers depends on the farm size in terms of land preparation, fertilizer application, weeds control, irrigation, spray chemicals, harvesting and other maintenance. Because growing of bunching onions is the main source of family income, the usual helpers in the farm are members of the family.   Table 11 presents the distribution of the respondents by crop raised. Aside from bunching onions, farmers' also plant other crops. Data show that majority of the respondents planted rice as the main crop,while the least planted ornamentals. Table 11:-Distribution of the respondents by crops raised. Figure 4 presents the distribution of the respondents by farm site. It shows that majority of the respondents' farm site is located in the rice field, while the others are near the house and public road.

Production and Management Practices Variety Selection
Out of 148 respondents, 111(75%) chose Semi macao variety that can be used in both dry and wet season as this variety were able to produce 12-16' tall stalks in an approximate of 1500-2000 seeds in packet and reaches its maturity within 60 -90 days.On the contrary, only 37(25%) chose the Macao variety during the same seasons because it produce tender leaves with 10-12' stalks inapproximate of 1600-1700 seeds in packet and reaches its maturity within 60-80 days or 2 ½ months.

Seedling Production
For seedling production, use seeds or basal tillers as planting materials. A 350-500 m2 seedbed can produce enough seedlings for one hectare. Incorporate 1 kg/m2 animal manure, and rice hull or rice straw on top of seedbed to control harmful microorganisms. Line sow 2-4 kg seeds in rows set across the bed 5 cm apart. Distribute seeds thinly and evenly to control damping off. Cover seeds slightly with compost. Mulch with rice straw or grass clippings. Maintain adequate soil moisture. Do not over-irrigate. Protect seedbed from direct sunlight and rain with nylon net or removable plastic tunnels.
Plate 2:-Actual photo of bunching onions seed.

Land Preparation
Thorough land preparation requires 1-2 plowing and harrowing operations. One month prior to land preparation, apply about 30 cm layer of rice hull over entire field and burn for about two weeks. Incorporate burnt rice straw/hull during land preparation. Burnt rice straw/hull reduces occurrence of weeds and diseases, and improves soil texture. Apply 10-15 bags animal manure prior to bed preparation. Prepare 1 m wide beds. Fertilize and mulch with rice straw prior to transplanting.

Plate 3:-
The land preparation of bunching onions in Sulib, Pangil, Laguna( a. after harvesting of rice, b. burning the rice field,c. land cultivation, d. ready for making plot or onions bed).

Transplanting
Water the seedbeds well prior to transplanting. Gently uproot seedlings to prevent root damage. Apply 5-7 bags 14-14-14 as basal fertilizer. Trim top portion of the leaves prior to transplanting to reduce transpiration and increase plant survival. Transplant in seedbeds at a distance of 10 cm x 15 cm. Use markers to provide proper spacing and to facilitate transplanting. Two finger or index finger may be used to make holes and plant deep enough. Care must be taken not to damage the basal portion of the plant. Press the soil lightly around the basal portion. Make sure that the root is in full contact with the soil. Irrigate the field before and after transplanting.

Fertilization
The practice of fertilizer application was observed in bunching onions production to ensure regular and good harvest. The distribution of respondents according to fertilizer used is shown in Table 15 which indicate that most of the respondents used urea and complete with frequency of 125(84.4%) while the rest of the farmers used urea only with the frequency of 23(16%). Apply three bags of urea (46-0-0) three weeks after transplanting. Repeat two weeks thereafter if soil fertility is low.
9 Table 15:-Distribution of respondents according to fertilize used.

Irrigation
Onion farmers practice irrigation so that the crops would grow regularly. Bunching onion is irrigated early in the morning. Table 16 shows that most of the respondents, 98 or 66.22% get their water supply through deep wells, while 29 (19.59%) get from irrigation and 14% used river as a source of water. Bunching onion requires adequate moisture to obtain steady, continuous and desirable growth. Irrigate daily during dry seas.

Pest and disease Management
Although generally a healthy crop, bunching onion is affected by diseases common to alliums, such as purple blotch and downy mildew. To minimize occurrence, the following is recommended: proper irrigation to regulate humidity within the field; eliminate debris from previous crop; remove infectedleaves; practice crop rotation; and spray compost tea. Compost tea is prepared by fermenting compost for 10-14 days. The effluent is sprayed to control foliar diseases. The beet army worm and the American bollworm are the more serious pests. To control, spread rice hull ash over the field and spray hot pepper extract. For onion thrips, use agricultural spreader, or spray with insecticidal soap. Practice strict sanitation and cultivation to reduce damaging effects of pests and diseases.

Harvest Maturity
Bunching onions are typically ready for harvest 50 to 60 days or 2½ months after planting, after seeding, depending on market preference. The most commonly used measure of harvest maturity are size of the plant and bulb diameter. The plant should have fully grown crisp green leaves with a minimum length of 30 cm (12 in). In some cultivars, the leaf length may extend up to 60 cm (24 in). Green onions should be harvested when they reach the proper bulb diameter for the particular market. Bunching onions should be harvested prior to bulb formation, with at least 5 cm (2 in) of white shank. The stem thickness should be slightly larger than the diameter of a pencil. Shallots should be harvested when the bulb at the base of the plant is 0.6 cm to 1.3 cm (¼ in to ½ in) in diameter and for the tillering type, planting material for the next cropping season can be left in the field.

Harvest Methods
Green onions should be carefully harvested by hand pulling the plant from the soil with the thumb, forefinger, and index finger clasped around the base of the plant. They should not be pulled by the leaves, as tearing and tissue damage will occur. The onions should be put directly into the field container and ideal harvest containers are wellventilated plastic crates. Reed baskets or wooden crates can be used if they are lined with newspaper to protect against abrasion damage to the delicate leaves. Field sacks should not be used for collection of green onions as tissue damage and over-heating may occur. Green onions that are injured, diseased, or unmarketable shouldbe culled and not mixed with the marketable ones.

Preparation for Market
Bunching onions are highly perishable and should be prepared for market within several hours after harvest.

Cleaning/Washing
Damaged, broken, or partially yellow leaves should be removed from the green onion bunch prior to washing. For some market destinations, the green tops are trimmed to a length of 30 cm (12 in). Trimming should be done gently to avoid crushing of the leaf tissue. Bunching onions should be washed in clean, properly sanitized water to remove soil particles, dirt, and surface stains.

Sorting
There are no grade standards for bunching onions in the domestic market. However, the plants should be sorted into different quality classes. Green onion quality is best based on size, thickness of the stem or bulb, straightness, leaf color, amount of surface blemishes, and uniformity of plants within the bunch. Additional quality indices are the amount of insect damage, tissue injury, and incidence of decay. High quality green onions should be fresh and turgid, and have an appropriate leaf length.

Bunching
Green onions are usually bunched prior to packing. The number of individual plants per bunch depends on the market destination and type of green onion (bunching or scallion). For domestic markets, green onions are usually 11 wrapped into large bunches of 25 to 30 plants per bunch. Either soft textured string or rubber bands can be used as wrapping material, and there are usually two wraps per bunch.

Marketing Management
Marketing management includes pricing, selling and distribution through marketing channel.
Most of the respondents said that in terms of pricing the viajeros and growers meet and bargain on price until a price acceptable to both of them in reached. Price depends on the season. A month of September to November is when price of bunching onions production are highest. This is also the reason of the high production. Bunching onion prices usually ranges from 100.00 to Php 120.00 per kilo. The lowest price is in December, where bunching onion are usually sold at 10-25 per kilo.

Selling
All of the respondents have their contact buyers, which are the viajeros who transport and sell the bunching onions in Divisoria and/or Balintawak markets. Respondents set aside some harvest, usually the rejects for family and relatives consumption. The viajeros and the growers have their meeting place, which is the waiting shed. The grower waits for the contact buyer to pick-up the products.

Marketing Channel
The marketing channel for bunching onions is shown in Figure 6. It shows how the product from producers reaches the consumers. The arrows indicate the direction of movement.
The producer does the planting up to the harvesting handling. The viajeros is the bulk buyer where the retailers or final consumers can buy products. Retailer is the convenient person where final consumer can buy in small amount of the product. Final consumer is the final destination of the product. They buy the product for consumption purposes.  Table 18 and 19 shows the frequency and the extent of the problems encountered by the farmers in production, marketing and finance. Based on the respondents' frequency, problems encountered are the highest price of seeds/seedlings, many competitors and lack of capital at a frequency of always. The extent problems encountered by the farmers are the highest price of seeds/seedlings, the place of buyers is very far and lack of capital at an above average extent.

Problems encountered by farmers in bunching onion productions
The overall frequency and extent of problems encountered by the farmers by production, marketing and finance were at average with grand mean score are 3.9 in frequency. Problem encountered by farmers level is sometimes and grand mean extent problem encountered by the farmers level was 3.51 for above average extent.
12 Table 18:-The frequency of problems encountered by the farmers by production, marketing and finance.

Financial Management
This section presents the financial management that includes the cost and return analysis for bunching onions.
Assumptions and the test of relationship using correlation are also presented.

Cost and return of producing bunching onions
The cost and return were based on the data and assumption gathered from the respondents. Table 20 shows the average of bunching onion per hectare and per cycle. One cycle of bunching onions isconsisting of 2 ½ months or 3 months. This showsthat the average harvest per cycle in the field is 6,200 kg. Average income of bunching onions is Php 589,000.00 per cycle, average of total cost/expenses of bunching onion is Php 65,887.50 and the average net income per cycle in the field is Php 532,290.00 of bunching onion production.  Table 21 shows the average cost and return of 0.5/ half-hectare-producing bunching onions per cycle. The production gives the respondents a reasonable profit. Based on the data, the average sale of bunching onions is Php480, 000.00 per cycle is expected to be realized average expenses of Php 43,550 was incurred and averaged income of Php 436,450.00. Return on Sale (ROS) of 90.92% shows that every peso sale attained, there is a corresponding Php 0.91 centavos net return. Return on Investment (ROI) of 10.02% shows that every Php 1.00 total investment there is a corresponding Php 0.10 centavos net return.

Influence of Demographic Profile of the Farmers to Yield and Profitability
To determine if profit level is affected by the demographic characteristics, test of relationship between age, household size, farm size, and educational attainment and yield and profit per ha per cycle in the field was tested.  Tables 22 and 23 revealed that the amount of yield per hectare per cycle of the respondents is influenced by the household size and farm size. The bigger household size results a lower yield because the capital is short for every day needs in a bigger household size while the smaller household size results a higher yield and not influenced by age and educational attainment in yield per hectare per cycle. While the amount of profit per hectare per cycle of the respondents is influenced by the educational attainment and also influenced by household, size and farm size in profit per hectare per cycle because bigger household size and small farm size result a lower yield that result also a lower profit. However, if if the farmers have bigger household size and have smaller farm size in terms by educational attainment in college level influence in terms of profit because they have strong ability to market or deal with the buyers that result to high profit and not influence by age of the respondents.
This result shows that the principles of economies of scale operate in bunching onions productions. It means that it can produce one unit of output at lower cost than when a smaller business is operated.

Conclusions:-
Based on the study, it is therefore concluded that growing ofbunching onions is profitable and a good source of income in short period of time about 2 to 3 months. This is because they practice water supply through deep well farming. There is a high demand or production for bunching onion in the months of September and November. this is also when prices are in maximum. It is further concluded that the age of the respondents has no significant influence on the yield and income of bunching onions growers except educational attainment, household size and farm size that directly affects in yield and profit on per cycle per hectare basis. The bigger the farm size, the higher the yield and profit. It was suggested that individuals who want to engage in this kind of business should have more 15 knowledge in the production and profitability of growing bunching onions. Further studies regarding bunching onions in other towns are also recommended to compare the profitability and the practices.