The purpose of curing onions is for the neck of the onion to dry thoroughly and seal closed so that the bulb does not rot. I have always dried mine with the dry leaves intact and then cut them off several weeks later when I bring them into the house for storage. In my opinion cutting the leaves off early just allows more spores to enter the neck of the onion.
Unless you are eating them fresh, most people do not harvest their onions until the tops have fallen over in the garden. Some people even step on the leaves to push them over to kill the leaves before harvesting.
Garlic bulbs are supposed to be dried OUT of the sun and I think that onions are the same. I dry mine in a carport which has lots of airflow but no direct sun.
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