Our friends at Washington State University have sent out the first issue of 2019 Onion Alerts, produced by Carrie Wohleb and Tim Waters, WSU Extension, and by Lindsey du Toit, WSU Plant Pathology.
This very informative newsletter, which is “funded by onion growers through a grant of the Columbia Basin Onion Research Committee,” is replete with very timely information on several topics, including the
WSU onion cultivar trial – storage evaluation, that took place on Feb. 15. The trial looked for “aspects of quality and incidence of storage rots,” and it included 54 cultivars from eight seed companies. The trial was planted with the help of Bejo Seeds in March 2018 in a center pivot irrigated onion field managed by Hartley Farms in the Horse Heaven Hills.
“Each cultivar was planted in three replicate plots. We harvested the trial on Sept. 19, 2018,” the report said. “Onions from each plot were placed in a commercial storage managed by CSS Farms in Pasco and were held there until February.” The WSU Onion Cultivar Trial is a collaborative effort of WSU Extension personnel, onion seed companies, and onion growers in the Columbia Basin, and this year marked the 35th annual, with plans in the works for number 36.
Click here to see results: https://wsu.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2eff8714011ff4bfba18a0704&id=51b7315665&e=04f5246efd
In addition, the newsletter provided info on fungicides, with a series of links provided. To become a subscriber of Onion Alerts, send an email to cwohleb@wsu.edu.