Cooperative Extension Service
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
The University of Georgia
George
Boyhan, Extension Horticulturist-Vegetables
East Georgia Extension Center
Nessmith-Lane Building, 2nd Floor
PO Box 8112
Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, GA 30460
912-681-5639 | 912-681-0376, Fax | 912-682-3481,
mobile
This past year has been a year of change at the Vidalia Onion Committee, with the dismissal of Tina Wheeler and the hiring of a new manager, Jeff Hall. Their regularly scheduled meeting on November 18 set the agenda for the coming year. Their first order of business was to change the assessments on onions. They have decided to assess onions at 0.10 per 40 pounds instead of the current 0.12 per 50 pounds. This translates into a half-cent increase in the assessment.
Their total revenue for 2005 is expected to be $494,000, which includes $150,000 in matching funds from the Georgia Department of Agriculture. For every dollar the VOC spends on advertising and promotion, the GDA will match up to $150,000. Their projected expenses for 2005 will be $450,300, which includes $5,000 for a required USDA study to assess VOC marketing impact.
Below are the controlled atmosphere storage results for the 2004 onion variety trial. This year's results were very good overall. Marketable yields out of storage ranged from 64 percent to 92 percent. There were no significant differences between the entries for marketable onions immediately out of storage.
The onions were evaluated again after 12 days at room temperature. The percent of marketable onions ranged from 16-67 percent, with significant differences between the entries. Varieties SSC 33076 and SSC-1600 had the highest percent marketable onions, and Exp. Yellow Granex 15085 had the lowest percent marketable onions. Botrytis neck rot was again the main culprit for onions being culled.
| Controlled atmosphere storage results, 2004. | |||
| After 4.5 months CA storage | 12 days out of storage | ||
| Entry | Company | Marketable (%) | Marketable (%) |
| SSC 33076 | Shamrock | 92% | 67% |
| SSC-1600 | Shamrock | 90% | 67% |
| Georgia Boy | D. Palmer Seed | 92% | 64% |
| 72766DY | Shaddy | 92% | 63% |
| Sapelo Sweet | D. Palmer Seed | 82% | 62% |
| XON-204Y | Sakata | 87% | 61% |
| SSC 6372 F1 | Shamrock | 86% | 61% |
| SSC 6371 F1 (Sugar Belle) | Shamrock | 80% | 61% |
| XON-203Y (01ZG 5034) | Sakata | 81% | 60% |
| Mr Buck | D. Palmer Seed | 92% | 59% |
| Savannah Sweet | Seminis | 84% | 57% |
| Granex 33 | Seminis | 82% | 56% |
| Granex Yellow PRR | Seminis | 90% | 55% |
| SSC 1535 | Shamrock | 85% | 54% |
| WI-3115 | Wannamaker | 83% | 49% |
| DPS 1318 | D. Palmer Seed | 84% | 49% |
| Ohoopee Sweet | D. Palmer Seed | 87% | 49% |
| WI-609 | Wannamaker | 76% | 49% |
| Cyclops | Seminis | 73% | 46% |
| WI-129 | Wannamaker | 86% | 46% |
| Exp. Yellow Granex 34140 | Dessert Seed | 86% | 45% |
| Rosali (Red) | Seminis | 83% | 45% |
| XON-303Y | Sakata | 78% | 44% |
| SRO 1001 | Seminis | 71% | 44% |
| Exp. Yellow Granex 15094 | Dessert Seed | 78% | 42% |
| Century | Seminis | 73% | 41% |
| XON-202Y (99C 5092) | Sakata | 76% | 40% |
| Pegasus | Seminis | 74% | 39% |
| Sweet Vidalia | Sunseeds | 78% | 37% |
| Exp. Yellow Granex 15082 | Dessert Seed | 76% | 37% |
| Southern Honey | D. Palmer Seed | 82% | 35% |
| DPSX 1290 | D. Palmer Seed | 73% | 33% |
| Granex EM90 | Clifton Seed | 76% | 33% |
| 606DY | Shaddy | 64% | 21% |
| Exp. Yellow Granex 15085 | Dessert Seed | 68% | 16% |
| CV | 15% | 25% | |
| LSD (0.05) | ns | 22% | |
| - | |||
| Observational | |||
| Tsubame | Yae Nogei Co., Ltd. | 94% | 59% |
| Nozomi | Yae Nogei Co., Ltd. | 81% | 52% |
This is my last newsletter for this year. I will be out in Colorado next week for the Alliums Conference. I have never been to Colorado, so this should be an interesting trip.
Have a happy holiday and I'll see you next year.