Analysis of the Growth and Yield of Overwintered Onions

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Abstract
Summary The growth of a number of onion cultivars sown on different dates during late summer in several years was assessed by regular sampling. The growth during the winter of five different winter-hardy cultivars was very similar, whereas that of Rijnsburger Bola, a cultivar normally sown in spring, was clearly slower. Sowing date was shown to affect final yield through its effect on overwintering size, which in turn influenced bulb size at harvest, the proportion of plants which bolted and the extent of winter losses. During the winter months the rate of leaf initiation appeared to be decreased to a lesser extent than the growth in dry weight, which itself was decreased less than growth in leaf area. The growth of the winter-hardy cultivars from all sowing dates and seasons was well summarized by a single linear relationship between the logarithm of plant dry weight and the accumulated day-degrees between 6° and 20°C from the day of seedling emergence. Using this relationship together with temperature records from past years it was possible to estimate the best average sowing date and the year-to-year variation in optimum sowing date. This approach may prove useful in predicting optimum sowing dates for other localities from past weather records.

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