Current Trends in Onion Breeding

Abstract

Summary Onion is an important vegetable crop worldwide and has been used in various forms as food. There are different types of onion available depending on shape, size and color. To a lesser extent the processing industry uses it in the form of dehydrated onion flakes and powder, one of the remarkable features of onion is its excellent transportability. The normal flower in onion is perfect. The flowering structure is called an umbel. It is an aggregate of many small flowers. Photoperiod is an important factor in bulb development. Normally onion is a long day plant. Heterosis has been commercially exploited in onion as male sterile lines are available in this crop. The male sterility was reported in the crop long back in 1936. Honeybees are used for necessary transfer of pollen from male parent to female parent. More research is needed on factors affecting attractiveness of onions to honeybees. The paper discusses in detailed information regarding research in heterosis, pollination control mechanisms, br...