On Aug. 25, onion growers, shippers, seed company representatives, crop consultants, bankers and research personnel were updated on onion variety trials being conducted by the Oregon State University’s Malheur Experiment Station.

Stuart Reitz, a faculty member at OSU’s Department of Crop and Soil Science, talked about the event and its importance to onion production in the Treasure Valley.

He said approximately 150 people attended the event. “There is always a great deal of interest in quality characteristics such as size, uniformity and percentage of bulbs with single centers. Growers are also interested in characteristics such as susceptibility to pests and diseases,” he told The Produce News.Erik Feibert, a member of the research team at Oregon State University’s Malheur Experiment station, shows onion varieties to several seed company representatives during Onion Variety Day held on Aug. 25. (Photo courtesy of Clint Shock/OSU Malheur Experiment Station)

This year, 46 varieties from eight seed companies were trialed.

“There were 34 yellow varieties, six red and six white onion varieties,” he stated. “Over 90 percent of the onions grown in the Treasure Valley are yellows, so the makeup of the trial fits with predominance of yellow onions in the valley.”

Although many of the varieties have been in the trial for a number of years, Reitz said, “It is always informative for growers to see how those varieties perform year-to-year. They are interested in seeing how consistently varieties may perform under the different growing conditions each year. Rather than put all their eggs in one basket, growers grow a ‘portfolio’ of different onions. Growers can use trial results to help select the varieties they will grow to meet their market needs and what would be suitable for their fields.”

In addition to commercial varieties, Reitz said four experimental varieties from Chris Cramer’s breeding program at New Mexico State University were also trialed. “These are varieties he has been screening for resistance to onion thrips and thrips-transmitted iris yellow spot virus. He wanted to give them a ‘trial by fire’ in the Treasure Valley where thrips and IYSV are always a problem. It’s exciting because some of these appear to have some resistance to thrips and IYSV. If that holds, Chris would try to breed those traits into commercial varieties.”

While there hasn’t been much breeding work conducted for drought-tolerant onions, Reitz said Clint Shock, professor and director of the station, has been conducting research on irrigation management for onions and other crops. “This research has fundamentally changed irrigation practices for onions by demonstrating how much water onion crops need; how onion crop water needs can be monitored through the use of soil moisture monitors; how drip irrigation can make efficient use of irrigation water and produce a higher quality crop than furrow irrigation,” Reitz commented.

Weather — and its impact on the 2015 onion crop — was a subject of considerable discussion.

“It was so warm that some growers started planting in late February,” Reitz said. “The heat continued through the first half of the season, with a stretch of 100-plus degrees in June. So the crop has been about two weeks ahead of normal. The heat has caused problems like pink root being more severe than normal. There are also concerns with the crop finishing early and how the continuing warm weather may affect how onions will store.”

Shock conducted a tour at the station’s E. coli research trials, discussing the impact of the Food Safety Modernization Act on the industry. Attendees also had a chance to meet Joy Waite-Cusic, assistant professor of food safety systems.

“As always, we appreciate the support from the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee, Malheur Onion Growers Association, Idaho Onion Growers Association, Malheur County Extension Tax Service District, and the seed and agrochemical companies that allow us to conduct these trials,” Reitz added.