Breeding of improved open-pollinated populations of spring-sown onions

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Abstract
Summary: Various population improvement methods were applied to the spring-sown bulb onion crop. Synthetic populations were developed by recurrent selection, basing this selection on the performance of inbred lines per se for improved yield, bulb quality and storage performance. From the synthetic populations, partially inbred populations were also developed by half-sib selection methods. Results showed that gains, primarily in storage performance and marketable yield, were obtained in many of the synthetics. The mean gain in yield per cycle was of a similar magnitude to gains reported for maize using similar selection procedures although individual onion synthetic populations varied considerably in their achieved gains. Further gains in quality and storage performance, with no reduction in yield, were obtained by the development of partially inbred populations from the synthetics. These results are discussed in relation to the breeding of improved onion cultivars in the U.K.