Division 5.3 Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)

The link between ‘Ptujski lük’ and the area is based on the reputation it has acquired over many years and the long-standing traditional production method. ‘Ptujski lük’ is the common name for an onion which has been grown on the Ptujsko Polje for more than 200 years. The growing area has since time immemorial been called the ‘onion-growing country’ (lükarija), because onions (lük) are grown there. Anton Ingolič, who lived and worked hereabouts, wrote that onion-growing started at Dornava, the heart of onion-growing country, and spread from there throughout the Ptujsko Polje. All producers in Dornava – and throughout the Ptujsko Polje – have taken up onion-growing, in particular small and medium-sized farmers.

Owing to the rainfall pattern, cereal rotation was the main form of farming to develop and become established on the Ptujsko Polje. Onion-growing is also ideal for incorporation into this rotation system. Onions do not need high temperatures in order to develop. As the sandy soils quickly dry out and heat up, the seed can therefore be sown and the sets planted very early in the year, when the days are still short. During the short-day season, the onions develop a strong root system, and then swell during the spring rains. This is followed by a hot and dry summer, which is necessary for the characteristic aroma (taste) to develop and, in particular, for drying the onions properly. The onions are therefore initially left to dry in the fields, the final stage of drying taking place on producers’ premises. As agriculture, especially the growing of cereals (including rye), has been well developed in the geographical area since ancient times, the well-known tradition of weaving onions into rye-straw wreaths (strings) has also spread.

It is because of the dry weather during ripening and the shallow sandy, nutrient-poor soils that the onions have developed a more pungent taste.

The various stages in production and the method of producing the onions are reflected locally in a wealth of practices, customs, sayings, adages and traditional foods which have evolved and survived, as well as in the architectural features of houses, which had to have projecting roofs for the drying of onions. These practices live on and are maintained both as part of people’s daily lives (special, still very popular foods, the drying of onions in yards under projecting roofs and the weaving of onion wreaths) and in connection with tourist events.