Selection for bulb maturity in onion

Abstract

It is possible to produce onions (Allium cepa) all over the year in Brazil, but most of the Brazilian cultivars have poor quality bulbs, a fact that favours onion imports from Argentina, a producer of Valenciana type cultivars that does not bulb in Brazil, but please Brazilian consumers. To study the effect of selection for bulb maturity, seventeen half sib progenies selected for early maturity and twenty five for late maturity, from the intervarietal triple cross [Crioula x (Pira Ouro x Valenciana Sintetica 14)] were grown, along with the triple cross itself and the cultivars Pira Ouro (short-day), Crioula (intermediate-day) and Armada (long-day). A total of forty six treatments were tested in a randomized block design with three replications of 32 plants per plot. The progenies selected for earliness had cycles from 67 to 83 days, whereas those selected for lateness had cycles of 85 to 103 days. This difference was evident when comparisons were made for the percent thick neck bulbs, which varied from 0 to 6.2% and from 8.1 to 59.8% for the early and late progenies, respectively. High heritability estimates were obtained for all characters and they varied from 0.65 (thick neck percentage, in the late selection) to 0.80 (average bulb weight, in the early selection). Progenies of higher bulb weight and maturity similar to the standard cultivars were obtained. Selection for maturity was highly efficient and the population selected for early maturity has potential to originate adapted cultivars, with bulb yield and quality superior to the available cultivars. Key words: Allium cepa, cycle, bulbification, breeding SELEÇÃO PARA MATURIDADE DE BULBOS EM CEBOLARESUMO: Embora seja possível produzir cebola ( Allium cepa) o ano inteiro no Brasil, a maioria dos cultivares nacionais apresentam bulbos com baixa qualidade, o que proporcionou grande importação de cebola da Argentina, do tipo Valenciana, que não bulbifica no Brasil, mas que agradou os consumidores brasileiros. Para estudar o efeito da seleção para maturidade de bulbos baseada em progênies de meios irmãos obtidas do híbrido triplo intervarietal [Crioula x (Pira Ouro x Valenciana Sintética 14)] foram semeadas 17 progênies selecionadas para maturidade precoce e 25 para tardia, além da geração F 1 e dos cultivares Pira Ouro (dias curtos), Crioula (intermediários) e Armada (dias longos), totalizando 46 tratamentos. O delineamento foi em blocos ao acaso, com três repetições de 32 plantas por parcela, cultivadas em bandejas de isopor. As progênies precoces apresentaram ciclo médio variando de 67 a 83 dias e as tardias de 85 a 103 dias. Na comparação da porcentagem de plantas improdutivas esta diferença também foi evidente, variando de 0,0% a 6,2% nas precoces e de 8,1% a 59,5% nas tardias. Os coeficientes de herdabilidades obtidos foram elevados, variando de 0,65 (porcentagem de plantas improdutivas, na seleção tardia) a 0,80 (peso médio de bulbo, na seleção precoce), sendo, em média, superiores na população selecionada para maturidade precoce. Foram obtidas ...

Valinia INIA, a New Early Storage Onion Variety for Central South Chile

“…Thus, after 12 yr of selection, they have achieved varieties with the desired characteristics, as in the case of 'Cobriza INTA', an onion with excellent storage capacity and darker cataphylls (Galmarini, 2000;Galmarini et al, 2001). There are other reports on the effectiveness of selection on characteristics such as precocity and storage capacity of onions (McCallum et al, 2001;Cardoso and da Costa, 2003). On the other hand, when comparing open-pollinated (OP) onion varieties with hybrid varieties, no consistent superiority of the latter has been found in both yield and bulb quality (Cramer, 2001).…”

Customized nutrient management of onion (Alium cepa) agroecosystems

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