Article Preview
Top1. Introduction
For a very long time, plants have been blessing us with their usefulness. But our altering lifestyle has turned to be a curse in disguise. With the rise in global population that crossed 7.83 billion (World Population Clock 2021), agriculture faces tremendous pressure to supply food, fibres, and fuel (https://www.worldometers.info/worldpopulation/#:~:text=7.9%20Billion%20(2021), Nations%20estimates%20elaborated%20by%20Worldometer). To overcome these situations, the consumption of fertilizers and pesticides has increased drastically. Our modern agriculture is incomplete without pesticides and fertilizers to kill or inhibit pests, control diverse diseases, suppress the growth of undesirable plants that compete with crops, prevent and reduce the damage due to various fungal species, thereby improving the crop quality and minimizing crop loss. Generally, the pesticides are used intentionally to protect crops, but they or their degradation may affect their non-treated neighbouring crops, which may result in the alteration of the equilibrium of the ecosystem as every organism in the ecosystem depends on each other for their necessities (Chhipa, 2017).
Allium Cepa (Onion) that originated in Central Asia is the second most and oldest cultivated plant (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276714). With three varieties of onion (red/white or yellow/brown) and specific flavour ranging from mildly sweet to strong, it is a regularly used vegetable in daily life around the globe. Onions are very rich source of various phytonutrients and are used as both food and therapeutic application in the treatment of cardiovascular and neurological disease, cancers, diabetes, and other dysfunctions related to oxidative stress (Ferioli & D’Antuono 2016).
Food stuff contamination by pesticides and other pollutants is a major concern in recent days. This results in accumulation of persistent nature of pesticides which finally in turn appear in food travelling various compartments of the environment.