Malheur Experiment Station Information for Sustainable Agriculture

To evaluate commercial and experimental lines of different varieties of yellow, white, and red onions for bulb yield and quality.

Sugar beets and wheat had been grown in the field during 1993 and 1994, respectively. The wheat stubble was shredded and the field deep-chiseled, disked, irrigated, and moldboard-plowed in the fall. The Owyhee silt loam soil containing 1.2 percent organic matter and with a pH of 7.3. Before plowing, 100 lbs/ac of P₂O₅, and 60 lbs N/ac were broadcast. After plowing, the field was bedded and left until spring without further tillage.

Onion seed was received from 14 companies; American Takii, Aristogenes, Asgrow, Bejo, Crookham, Ferry Morse, Dakota Seeds, Harris Moran, Nippon Noran, Petoseed, Rio Colorado, Rispen Seeds, Shamrock, and Sunseeds. Seventy-seven onion varieties were planted April 5 and 6 in plots 4 rows wide and 27 feet long. The onions were planted on 22-inch single-row beds. Each variety was planted in five replications. Seed for each row was prepackaged using enough seed for a planting rate of 12 viable seeds per foot of row. Seed was planted using 12-inch- diameter cone-seeders mounted on a John Deere Model 71 flexi-planter unit equipped with disc openers.

The onions were furrow-irrigated during the growing season. The first irrigation was applied on April 8 to supply the soil with moisture for seed germination and seedling emergence and growth.

On May 12 through May 16 the seedling onion plants were thinned by hand to a plant population of four plants/linear foot of row (3-inch spacing between individual onion plants). On May 20, 210 lbs N/ac as NH₄SO₄ was sidedressed. Nitrogen was shanked on each side of every row. On June 12, lay-bye herbicides were applied, and the onions were cultivated for the final time. Karate insecticide was applied at 2-week intervals during June, July, and August for thrip control. Because of hail damage on June 16 and 19 and again on July 29, Ridomil fungicide was applied in combination with the insecticide.

Bulb maturity ratings for each plot were taken on August 11, 18, 28, and September 4 and 15. Maturity ratings were recorded as percent of growing bulbs, with necks collapsed and leaves laying on the ground. All pests were controlled and were not a negating factor in varietal performance.

The onion bulbs were flail-topped and lifted on September 15 and field-dried for five days. On September 20, onion bulbs from the two center rows of each four-row plot were placed in small slatted wooden boxes. The boxed onions were put in storage boxes (4 x 4 x 6 feet) and left in the field for one week for further air drying. The boxes were placed in storage on September 27 and 28.

The onion bulbs were removed from storage and graded from December 19 through December 27. Bulbs were graded according to their diameter and quality. Size categories were 2¼ to 3-inch, 3 to 4-inch, and 4-inch and larger. Split bulbs were graded as No. 2s. Bulbs rotted by Botrytis neckrot and bacterial organisms were weighed and the percent of rotten bulbs was calculated.

Because of higher than normal outside temperatures and humidity occurring during the storage season, significant amounts of storage rot occurred this year.

Varieties are listed by company in alphabetical order and according to rank for total bulb yield for each company's varieties (Table 1). Average bulb yields were 782 cwt/ac with 57.5 percent colossal-sized bulbs, 40.2 percent jumbo's, and 1.4 percent No. 2's. Average neckrot for all varieties was 20.2 percent.

Statistical data are included at the bottom of the tables and should be considered when comparisons are made between varieties for yield and quality performance potential. Differences equal to or greater than LSD (0.05) values should exist before one variety is considered superior to another.
 

Table 1. Yield and quality of commercial and experimental onion cultivars evaluated in 1995 trials. Malheur Experiment Station, Oregon State University, Ontario, Oregon, 1995.
 

				Yield by market grade								Maturity ratings					Bolters1
Company	Variety	Total yield	Storage rot	> 4 inch		3 - 4 inch		2 1/4 - 3 inch		No. 2's		8/11	8/18	8/28	9/4	9/15
		cwt/ac	%	cwt/ac	%	cwt/ac	%	cwt/ac	%	cwt/ac	%	%
American Takii	T-405	808	15. 5	376	46. 5	428	53. 0	3. 2	0. 4	1. 0	0. 11	0	5	20	45	75	0
	Condor	796	11. 5	448	56. 3	344	43. 2	2. 5	0. 3	1. 2	0. 15	0	15	30	50	78	3
	9002	724	11. 8	392	54. 1	326	45. 0	2. 4	0. 3	3. 7	0. 53	0	10	18	30	60	0
Aristogene	AX-1514	1061	31. 6	898	84. 7	161	15. 1	2. 1	0. 2	0	0	0	3	15	25	58	5
	Bravo	1057	39. 3	943	89. 3	109	10. 3	3. 0	0. 3	1. 1	0. 09	0	0	12	17	40	14
	El Padre	1025	39. 9	858	83. 8	164	16. 0	2. 6	0. 3	0	0	0	0	5	10	25	16
	AX-1632	1022	25. 7	833	81. 6	182	17. 8	3. 0	0. 3	2. 9	0. 28	0	5	15	35	60	3
	Seville	981	29. 0	876	89. 2	100	10. 3	2. 7	0. 3	2. 5	0. 25	0	0	10	20	40	6
	Madrid	968	37. 7	700	72. 4	255	26. 3	7. 9	0. 8	5. 9	0. 60	0	0	5	18	35	2
	Capri	946	26. 9	743	78. 4	200	21. 2	1. 9	0. 2	1. 6	0. 16	0	2	12	25	50	5
	Maritime	876	16. 6	635	72. 5	232	26. 5	1. 8	0. 2	1. 6	0. 85	10	45	65	80	85	11
	AX-2661	817	12. 3	469	57. 4	339	41. 5	3. 1	0. 4	6.1	0. 73	2	10	25	45	70	6
	AX-3102	814	19. 9	447	54. 9	362	44. 4	1. 8	0. 2	3. 2	0. 39	0	0	5	15	45	9
	Envoy	776	15. 8	477	61. 5	283	36. 4	9. 1	1. 2	6. 8	0. 87	10	40	65	80	90	4
Asgrow	Viper	928	13. 0	687	74. 1	234	25. 2	2. 7	0. 3	3. 5	0. 37	10	40	65	75	80	7
	Viceroy	861	9. 6	627	72. 8	229	26. 6	3. 7	0. 4	1. 4	0. 16	5	40	70	80	90	1
	Regiment	850	12. 4	662	77. 8	187	22. 0	1. 0	0. 1	0. 7	0. 08	30	65	80	85	90	11
	Fury	673	8. 4	361	53. 6	306	45. 4	4. 5	0. 7	2. 2	0. 32	40	70	85	93	95	0
Bejo Seeds	Redwing	711	8. 8	301	42. 2	408	57. 4	2. 5	0. 4	0	0	0	25	50	60	75	1
	BGS-77	679	12. 6	285	42. 0	386	56. 9	6. 6	1. 0	1. 2	0. 18	0	10	15	40	65	0
	Daytona	669	11. 7	277	41. 4	382	57. 0	5. 3	0. 8	5. 4	0. 8	0	2	10	20	55	0
	Gladstone	636	25. 3	213	33. 4	412	64. 7	10. 7	1. 7	1. 4	0. 2	0	3	6	15	40	2
	Santana	603	9. 5	220	36. 6	374	62. 0	7. 2	1. 2	1. 2	0. 2	2	30	50	65	88	0
	Prince	547	0. 9	137	25. 1	393	71. 8	16. 2	2. 9	1. 0	0. 2	25	70	95	98	100	6
	Sundance	540	1. 1	126	23. 3	375	69. 4	17. 1	3. 2	22. 8	4. 1	10	55	85	95	98	0
Crookham	Celebrity	949	35. 9	724	76. 2	212	22. 3	0. 4	0	13. 2	1. 4	0	2	10	20	45	4
	Sweet Perfection	933	31. 0	701	75. 2	223	23. 8	1. 6	0. 2	7. 6	0. 8	3	20	55	65	75	9
	Sweet Amber	929	31. 4	754	81. 2	160	17. 3	6. 3	0. 7	8. 3	0. 9	2	15	35	60	65	7
	XPH-94378	894	32. 5	584	65. 3	298	33. 3	4. 2	0. 5	7. 7	0. 9	0	0	5	15	40	7
	XPH-94385	831	37. 6	553	`66. 6	268	32. 2	1. 9	0. 2	8. 5	1. 0	0	0	10	25	45	2
Dakota Seed	Dakota BII	970	41. 9	752	77. 6	200	20. 7	2. 9	0. 3	14. 4	1. 4	0	0	15	30	45	25
	Cherokee	886	26. 3	688	77. 6	188	21. 2	1. 3	0. 2	9. 1	1. 1	0	2	15	30	50	4
	Cuzco	856	33. 0	558	65. 2	286	33. 3	6. 6	0. 8	6. 0	0. 7	0	0	3	15	45	1
	Klondike	761	33. 1	375	49. 3	356	46. 8	4. 6	0. 6	25. 5	3. 3	0	3	7	20	45	0
	Mohawk	560	1. 5	117	20. 9	412	73. 6	11. 5	2. 0	19. 2	3. 4	20	50	75	90	98	0
	Laramie	463	0. 6	28	6. 1	420	90. 7	13. 5	2. 9	1. 3	0. 3	30	80	95	98	100	1
	Buckskin	416	1. 8	34	8. 1	249	60. 0	29. 6	7. 1	103. 4	24. 8	40	55	85	98	100	0
Ferry Morse	Caesar	843	23. 6	531	63. 1	307	36. 4	1. 3	0. 2	2. 7	0. 3	0	5	20	40	60	4
	Augustus	804	31. 8	540	67. 2	250	31. 1	3. 3	0. 4	10. 1	1. 2	0	2	5	15	35	4
	Oro Grande	800	21. 8	480	60. 0	312	39. 0	4. 4	0. 5	3. 8	0. 5	2	30	45	60	75	6
	Fabius	774	16. 4	492	63. 5	279	36. 2	1. 4	0. 2	1. 6	0. 2	5	10	30	55	70	15
Table one continued on next page

				Yield by market grade								Maturity ratings					Bolters1
Company	Variety	Total yield	Storage rot	> 4 inch		3 - 4 inch		2 1/4 - 3 inch		No. 2's		8/11	8/18	8/28	9/4	9/15
		cwt/ac	%	cwt/ac	%	cwt/ac	%	cwt/ac	%	cwt/ac	%	%
Harris Moran	HMX-3630	861	34. 8	586	68. 1	268	31. 2	3. 4	0. 4	2. 7	0. 3	0	0	5	15	30	9
	HMX-0628	814	11. 8	501	61. 6	299	36. 7	2. 2	0. 3	11. 7	1. 4	15	45	75	85	93	3
	HMX-0627	562	12. 2	186	33. 0	355	63. 2	15. 9	2. 6	6. 5	1. 2	20	40	55	60	85	4
	White Ivory	462	6. 4	49	10. 6	358	77. 7	17. 3	3. 7	37. 4	8. 0	0	10	20	35	75	0
Nippon Noran	Tenschin	579	1. 9	128	22. 2	443	76. 5	6. 8	1. 2	0. 5	0	35	80	98	100	100	0
Petoseed	Quest	1093	42. 5	1008	92. 2	83	7. 6	2. 3	0. 2	0	0	0	2	15	25	50	12
	Vision	982	32. 0	786	80. 1	189	19. 1	2. 3	0. 2	5. 3	0. 6	0	2	10	30	60	2
	Shasta	955	39. 8	754	79. 0	197	20. 6	3. 5	0. 4	0. 1	0	0	2	10	20	55	32
	Apex	821	20. 6	432	52. 8	377	45. 8	5. 6	0. 7	5. 8	0. 7	0	10	25	35	60	0
	Teton	776	15. 5	501	64. 6	271	35. 0	3. 6	0. 5	0	0	5	20	45	60	85	6
	Pinnacle	668	6. 5	261	39. 1	401	60. 0	5. 8	0. 9	0	0	5	15	25	50	75	0
	Diamond	604	27. 8	179	29. 7	411	68. 1	9. 3	1. 5	4. 2	0. 7	0	5	10	15	45	2
	PSX-81791	585	4. 7	156	26. 6	391	66. 8	9. 2	1. 5	30. 2	5. 1	3	10	20	45	75	0
	Fuego	496	2. 4	101	20. 3	360	72. 6	11. 8	2. 4	23. 1	4. 6	0	15	25	45	80	1
Rio Colorado	Challenge	800	20. 2	535	67. 0	245	30. 6	3. 9	0. 5	15. 8	2. 0	5	25	35	55	65	6
	Discovery	733	14. 7	403	55. 0	310	42. 3	6. 7	0. 9	13. 4	1. 8	15	65	80	85	85	1
	Rio Seco	727	5. 3	387	53. 3	329	45. 3	3. 2	0. 4	7. 3	1. 0	65	80	95	95	95	1
Rispen Seeds	Golden Security	955	34. 0	737	77. 2	209	21. 9	1. 4	1. 5	6. 8	0. 7	0	3	10	25	50	12
	Victory	932	31. 6	720	77. 3	201	21. 6	2. 2	0. 2	8. 3	0. 9	0	10	30	50	65	2
	Bellringer	860	38. 3	645	75. 0	206	23. 9	2. 4	0. 3	6. 9	0. 8	0	0	5	15	35	6
Shamrock	SSC-0617	885	26. 9	632	71. 4	243	27. 4	4. 9	0. 6	5. 2	0. 6	0	5	15	35	60	11
	SSC-0199	789	18. 1	477	60. 5	262	33. 2	5. 1	0. 6	44. 9	5. 6	0	3	15	35	60	9
	SSC-3360	763	14. 1	471	61. 7	254	33. 3	4. 3	0. 6	34. 4	4. 5	15	40	60	75	80	0
	Impala	692	7. 9	301	43. 6	340	49. 2	8. 3	1. 2	42. 8	6. 0	20	60	80	90	95	2
Sunseeds	Winner	968	33. 6	807	83. 5	161	16. 5	0	0	0	0	0	7	20	45	70	24
	Valdez	923	38. 5	788	85. 3	131	14. 2	2. 0	0. 2	2. 9	0. 3	0	3	8	20	45	5
	Vaquero	901	32. 4	732	81. 2	168	18. 6	0. 8	0. 1	1. 2	0. 2	0	2	10	20	60	0
	Tesoro	783	10. 0	420	53. 6	357	45. 6	4. 5	0. 6	1. 7	0. 2	15	55	70	75	88	6
	Bullring	728	13. 4	457	62. 8	265	36. 3	4. 1	0. 6	2. 5	0. 3	5	45	70	80	85	3
	Snow White	723	44. 2	383	52. 9	303	42. 0	5. 4	0. 7	32. 1	4. 3	0	0	3	8	25	9
	Sunex 1440	722	4. 3	309	42. 8	411	56. 8	1. 3	0. 2	1. 2	0. 2	3	15	40	70	90	2
	Valient	709	15. 2	439	61. 9	264	37. 1	4. 8	0. 7	1. 7	0. 3	2	30	50	65	85	9
	Brahma	671	6. 5	312	46. 7	352	52. 3	4. 6	0. 7	2. 1	0. 3	20	50	75	85	90	1
	Mambo	643	5. 4	307	47. 7	301	46. 7	7. 1	1. 1	29. 0	4. 4	0	10	18	30	70	2
	Blanco Duro	620	37. 1	244	39. 4	370	59. 7	2. 8	0. 5	3. 1	0. 5	0	0	7	15	40	8
	Tango	445	1. 5	85. 4	19. 2	334	75. 0	22. 0	4. 9	4. 2	0. 9	5	30	45	60	85	0
Mean		782	20. 2	482	57. 5	285	40. 2	5. 4	0. 9	9. 3	1. 4	-	-	-	-	-	-
LSD (0.05)		33	7. 5	30	3. 2	30	3. 3	5. 7	0. 9	11. 1	1. 6	-	-	-	-	-	-
CV (%)		3. 3	13. 3	5. 0	2. 0	8. 3	2. 9	37. 4	36. 5	42. 6	39. 5	-	-	-	-	-	-
1Number of bolting onion bulbs per 1440 onion plants.

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Malheur Agricultural Experiment Station

Last updated  Thursday September 9, 2010 .