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Texas onion growers were recently invited to explore firsthand a selection of varieties in the Seminis short-day onion portfolio during a field day in Donna, Texas. The event was held at the company’s research station, where breeding and screening trials are conducted to select new varieties that will adapt better to the local Texas growing conditions.
Among the varieties showcased at the event was Hellcat. Seminis is promoting the early short-day yellow onion as having great scale, quality and color, along with bulb uniformity and internal qualities that deliver a highly attractive and marketable bulb. It’s also suitable for mechanical harvest.
Well suited for growers in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, Hellcat’s rapid maturation offers flexibility and reliable performance across planting dates, according to Seminis. Hellcat also has consistent tolerance to bolting and has high resistance to Phytophthora neck and bulb rot and intermediate resistance to pink root and basal rot.
Seminis Short-Day Onion Program
Seminis has designed its portfolio to have a short-day onion variety available for each planting window throughout the Texas planting season. The goal is to create a program for growers that helps with the production and profitability of their crop.
After starting with the very early-season Hellcat, the program works in a transition variety like SVNN1049. Next is Hornet, a low-pungency onion that had high yields in trials. The adaptability and flexibility of Hornet, which can be sown throughout the whole month of October, provides growers flexibility around environmental issues.
For the main season, Nomad is a vigorous plant said to demonstrate a high percentage of single centers, uniform bulbs and good post-harvest integrity. And Leona, a thin-neck variety with high resistance to Fusarium basal rot and pink root, is positioned by the company as a perfect later-season variety for fresh market growers.
Seminis also suggests Texas growers consider other short-day varieties including Red Maiden, Red Halen, Duster, Alba Blanca and SV7030NS.
