At Moulton Bulb Company, we believe that protecting the future of British-grown onions means investing in knowledge, science, and partnerships. That’s why we’re supporting a pioneering research project led by Kirsty Turner, a PhD student working to understand how Fusarium Basal Rot (FBR) interacts with onions at every stage of their life cycle — from seed to store.

Kirsty is working in collaboration with academic partners including the University of Reading, aiming to deliver practical, evidence-based solutions to one of the biggest threats to onion production today: Fusarium.

What Is Fusarium Basal Rot?

Fusarium is a fungal disease that can cause significant crop losses. Although literature has historically quoted losses as high as 50%, our experience — and industry discussions — suggest a more realistic impact is 5–10% crop loss, which is still commercially and environmentally significant. The disease affects red and brown onions equally, and there is some evidence of it emerging in garlic crops too.

The Purpose of Kirsty's Research

The aim of this project is to better understand the onion–Fusarium interaction, and to explore ways to reduce infection risk during growth, harvest, curing and storage. Unlike other research focused on early detection (such as the work from the FUSED Project), Kirsty’s work zeroes in on the biological mechanisms of infection and how environmental and agronomic practices may influence its development.

Key questions being investigated include:

  • Does crop rotation frequency reduce disease risk?
  • Could storage conditions, like humidity levels, affect the spread of infection?
  • Could pests or infected crop debris act as disease vectors?
  • How effective are current visual inspections and NIR technologies at detecting FBR?
  • Could VOC (volatile organic compound) profiling reveal early signs of infection?

Data Collection and Experimentation

During a recent visit to Moulton, Kirsty set up both passive and active VOC sampling equipment to compare emission profiles from infected and non-infected onions. These samples will be analysed to determine if there are measurable differences that could be used for early detection or better storage strategy development.

She is also exploring variables such as:

  • Bulb orientation and grading limitations in current optical systems
  • Fusarium spore presence in storage areas, and cleaning best practices
  • Seed treatment and fungicidal coating analysis with encapsulated seed trials

Two onion varieties are being grown in controlled conditions to help track infection progress across different lifecycle stages: from seed to true leaf stage, bulbing, maturation, curing, and ambient storage.

Looking Ahead

This research is expected to provide vital insights that will help shape disease prevention strategies, reduce crop losses, and optimise storage conditions — with the added benefit of reducing energy costs linked to unnecessarily storing already infected onions.

At Moulton Bulb Company, we're proud to be actively involved in this work. By combining real-world commercial farming expertise with academic research, we're helping lead the industry forward.

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