BBCH-scale (bulb vegetable)

Last updated March 12, 2019

In biology, the BBCH-scale for bulb vegetables describes the phenological development of bulb vegetable plants, such as onion, leek, garlic and shallot, using the BBCH-scale.

Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors. The word, coined by the Belgian botanist Charles Morren around 1849, is derived from the Greek φαίνω (phainō), "to show, to bring to light, make to appear" + λόγος (logos), amongst others "study, discourse, reasoning" and indicates that phenology has been principally concerned with the dates of first occurrence of biological events in their annual cycle. Examples include the date of emergence of leaves and flowers, the first flight of butterflies and the first appearance of migratory birds, the date of leaf colouring and fall in deciduous trees, the dates of egg-laying of birds and amphibia, or the timing of the developmental cycles of temperate-zone honey bee colonies. In the scientific literature on ecology, the term is used more generally to indicate the time frame for any seasonal biological phenomena, including the dates of last appearance.

The onion, also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. Its close relatives include the garlic, leek, chive, and Chinese onion.

The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of Allium ampeloprasum, the broadleaf wild leek. The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus Allium also contains the onion, garlic, shallot, scallion, chive, and Chinese onion.

The phenological growth stages and BBCH-identification keys of bulb vegetables are:

Growth stage	Code (2-digit)	Code (3-digit)	Description
0: Germination	00	000	Dry seed,¹ dormant bulb²
	01	000	Beginning of seed imbibition¹
	03	003	Seed imbibition complete¹
	05	005	Radicle emerged from seed.¹ Roots appearing²
	07	007	Cotyledon breaking through seed coat¹
	09	009	Emergence: cotyledon breaks through soil surface.¹ Green shoot visible²
		010	Cotyledon visible as hook¹
		011	Hook stage: hooked cotyledon green¹
		012	Whip stage: cotyledon has whip-like form¹
1: Leaf development (Main shoot)	10	100	Advanced whip stage: whip begins to die off¹
	11	101	First leaf (> 3 cm) clearly visible
	12	102	2nd leaf (> 3 cm) clearly visible
	13	103	3rd leaf (> 3 cm)
	1 .	10 .	Stages continuous till . . .
	19	109	9 or more leaves clearly visible
4: Development of harvestable vegetative plant parts	41	401	Leaf bases begin to thicken or extend
	43	403	30% of the expected bulb or shaft diameter reached
	45	405	50% of the expected bulb or shaft diameter reached
	47	407	Bolting begins; in 10% of the plants leaves bent over³ 70% of the expected shaft length and diameter reached⁴
	48	408	Leaves bent over in 50% of plants³
	49	409	Leaves dead, bulb top dry; dormancy³ Growth complete; length and stem diameter typical for variety reached⁴
5: Inflorescence emergence	51	501	Onion bulb begins to elongate
	53	503	30% of the expected length of flower stem reached
	55	505	Flower stem at full length; sheath closed
	57	507	Sheath burst open
	59	509	First flower petals visible; flowers still closed
6: Flowering	60	600	First flowers open (sporadically)
	61	601	Beginning of flowering: 10% of flowers open
	62	602	20% of flowers open
	63	603	30% of flowers open
	64	604	40% of flowers open
	65	605	Full flowering: 50% of flowers open
	67	607	Flowering finishing: 70% of petals fallen or dry
	69	609	End of flowering
7: Development of fruit	71	701	First capsules formed
	72	702	20% of capsules formed
	73	703	30% of capsules formed
	74	704	40% of capsules formed
	75	705	50% of capsules formed
	76	706	60% of capsules formed
	77	707	70% of capsules formed
	78	708	80% of capsules formed
	79	709	Capsule development complete; seeds pale
8: Ripening of fruit and seed	81	801	Beginning of ripening: 10% of capsules ripe
	85	805	First capsules bursting
	89	809	Fully ripe: seeds black and hard
9: Senescence	92	902	Leaves and shoots beginning to discolour
	95	905	50% of leaves yellow or dead
	97	907	Plants or above ground parts dead
	99	909	Harvested product (seeds)

1 Seed sown
2 Onion sets, shallot and garlic
3 For onions, garlic
4 For leek

Related Research Articles

The shallot is a type of onion, specifically a botanical variety of the species Allium cepa.

Garlic is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and Chinese onion.

A mirepoix is a flavour base made from diced vegetables that are cooked, usually with butter, oil, or other fat, for a long time on a low heat without colour or browning. It is not sautéed or otherwise hard cooked because the intention is to sweeten the ingredients rather than caramelise them. It is a long-standing cooking technique in French cuisine. Further cooking, often with the addition of tomato purée, creates a darkened brown mixture called pincage.

Scallions are vegetables of various Allium onion species. Scallions have a milder taste than most onions. Their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chive, and Chinese onion.

Elephant garlic is a perennial plant belonging to the onion genus. It is not a true garlic, but actually a variant of the garden leek. It has a tall, solid, flowering stalk and broad, flat leaves much like those of the leek, but forms a bulb consisting of very large, garlic-like cloves. The flavor of these, while not exactly like garlic, is much more similar to garlic than to leeks. The flavor is milder than garlic, and much more palatable to some people than garlic when used raw as in salads. It is sometimes confused with solo garlic.

Tree onion, topsetting onions, walking onions, or Egyptian onions, Allium × proliferum, are similar to common onions (A. cepa), but with a cluster of bulblets where a normal onion would have flowers. Genomic evidence has conclusively shown that they are a hybrid of the common onion and the Welsh onion (A. fistulosum). However, some sources may still treat the tree onion as A. cepa var. proliferum or A. cepa Proliferum Group. Tree onion bulblets will sprout and grow while still on the original stalk. They may bend down under the weight of the new growth and take root some distance from the parent plant, giving rise to the name "walking onion." It has been postulated that the name "Egyptian onion" derived from Romani people bringing tree onions to Europe from the Indian subcontinent.

Allium ampeloprasum is a member of the onion genus Allium. The wild plant is commonly known as wild leek or broadleaf wild leek. Its native range is southern Europe to western Asia, but it is cultivated in many other places and has become naturalized in many countries.

The BBCH-scale is used to identify the phenological development stages of plants. BBCH-scales have been developed for a range of crop species where similar growth stages of each plant are given the same code.

In biology, the BBCH-scale for beans describes the phenological development of bean plants using the BBCH-scale.

In biology, the BBCH-scale for cucurbits describes the phenological development of cucurbits, such as cucumber, melon, pumpkin, marrow, squash, calabash and watermelon, using the BBCH-scale.

In biology, the BBCH-scale for musaceae describes the phenological development of musaceae using the BBCH-scale.

In biology, the BBCH-scale for other brassica vegetables describes the phenological development of vegetables such as brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli using the BBCH-scale.

In biology, the BBCH-scale for peanut describes the phenological development of peanuts using the BBCH-scale.

The BBCH-scale for root and stem vegetables identifies the phenological development stages of the root and stem vegetables such as carrot, celeriac, kohlrabi, chicory, radish and swede, using the BBCH-scale.

In biology, the BBCH-scale for leafy vegetables forming heads describes the phenological development of leafy vegetables forming heads, such as cabbage, chinese cabbage, lettuce and endive, using the BBCH-scale.

In biology, the BBCH-scale for leafy vegetables not forming heads describes the phenological development of leafy vegetables not forming heads, such as spinach, loosehead lettuce, and kale, using the BBCH-scale.

Delia antiqua, commonly known as the onion fly, is a cosmopolitan pest of crops. The larvae or maggots feed on onions, garlic, and other bulbous plants.

Botrytis allii is a plant pathogen, a fungus that causes neck rot in stored onions and related crops. Its teleomorph is unknown, but other species of Botrytis are anamorphs of Botryotinia species. The species was first described scientifically by Mancel Thornton Munn in 1917.

References

Feller, C.; H. Bleiholder; L. Buhr; H. Hack; M. Hess; R. Klose; U. Meier; R. Stauss; T. van den Boom; E. Weber (1995). "Phänologische Entwicklungsstadien von Gemüsepflanzen: I. Zwiebel-, Wurzel-, Knollen- und Blattgemüse. Nachrichtenbl. Deut". Pflanzenschutzd. 47: 193–206.

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