Hot weather has posed challenges for onion growers in the Treasure Valley. Bob Komoto, sales manager at Ontario Produce in Ontario, OR, described the situation this way. “The temperatures have been above normal. June and July had several 100 degree days in a row,” he told The Produce News. “That put the onions under stress and increased the thrip pressure since higher temperatures result in more reproduction of the thrip. Also, these higher temperatures make it more likely that the iris yellow spot virus will affect the onions.”

Conditions were also rainy for several consecutive days in early September.

As for the crop outlook, Komoto said he expects onions in fields affected by iris yellow spot virus to show reduced size and yield. “The good fields should be more normal,” he continued. “The rain may also allow those fields that have not been lifted (popped out of the ground before harvest) to finish growing, too.”

According to Komoto, rain should set the skin on the onions and color them up. “They keep better when the skins are set on the bulb,” he noted.

Volume is something of a wildcard this season. “We expect the yields for our growers to be about average between the low ones and the ones who will be above average,” he stated. “But our overall volume this year will be less because we have only about two-thirds of our grower base compared to last year because the Ontario Produce sale by Rio Queen disrupted our normal contracting period, and some of our growers had made other plans by the time we were able to start contracting.”

Although quality will be reduced in fields affected by the virus, Komoto said, “Most of our own fields are not affected by the virus.” Looking at the valley as a whole, he expects smaller sizing with less supers and colossals and more mediums.

Ontario Produce grows and markets the onion varieties typically found in the valley. They include the Vaquero, Granero, Montero, Pandero and Acero. “We are marketing sweet varieties too,” Komoto added.

The company ramped up the harvest on Aug. 19 and expects to be finished by the end of September. Onions are marketed to retail, foodservice, wholesale and processor customers throughout the United States. Ontario Produce is also exploring export opportunities in Japan and Taiwan this season.

Onions are marketed under the “A” Brand, “Golden Bird,” “Real West,” “Wowie! Sweet” and “NK” labels.

Komoto said Ontario Produce added some tote bag filling machinery at its facility this year. “We will have more sweet production capacity this year,” he added.