452 Stand Reduction and Foliage Damage Reduce Yield of Onion for Dehydration

Abstract

Field trials were conducted at Hermiston, Ore., from 1995 through 1998 to determine the impact of stand loss and plant damage at different growth stages on yield of onions grown for dehydration. The experiment was a complete factorial with four replications. Stand reduction (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%) and foliage damage (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100%) treatments were applied at 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-leaf onion growth stages. All average onion production characteristics decreased linearly as stand reduction increased (plant population decreased) at all plant growth stages except average bulb weight which increased as stand was reduced. Bulb weight was not changed by up to 100% foliage removal at the three-leaf stage of growth. At the 6- and 12-leaf stages, bulb weight was reduced when >50% of the foliage was removed. The most severe response occurred at the nine-leaf stage when bulb weights were reduced the most. At the three-leaf stage, yield was not affected by foliage damage. At the six-leaf growth stage, yield was reduced by 75% or more foliage loss, but at the 9- and 12-leaf stages, >50% foliage removal reduced expected yields. As with bulb weight, the impact of foliage removal on yield was most severe at the nine-leaf growth stage.