A Self-Guided Tour
Story and photos by Denise Keller, Onion World Editor
The annual Washington State University (WSU) onion field day typically draws a crowd. While that is most often a good thing, as we know, it’s grounds for cancelation in 2020. In respect of state mandates against large gatherings and deciding that it’s better to be safe than sorry, organizers opted for self-guided tours of the WSU onion cultivar trial in lieu of the usual field day event.
WSU regional vegetable specialists Carrie Wohleb and Tim Waters invited growers, seed company reps and others in the industry to view the trial results at CSS Farms east of Pasco, Washington, on their own during the last week of August.
This year’s trial, grown under center pivot irrigation, included 51 entries from eight seed companies. The trial was harvested in mid-September, and yields were average. There was a small shift toward larger bulb sizes, probably due to slightly lower stands, according to Wohleb.
“It’s all relative,” she points out. “Within this one trial, you’re going to be comparing one cultivar that has been grown under the same conditions and has had to face the same challenges as the one next to it, so the playing field is level.”
The onions from the trial will be stored and evaluated for post-storage quality in February.
WSU has been conducting an onion cultivar trial since 1984. This is the first year “in a very long time” without an onion field day, according to Wohleb.
“The field day is usually a good time for onion people to get together and hear what’s happening in the research and meet their onion seed sales teams,” Wohleb says. “The trial may not be as useful as a seed sales tool without a field day event this year. But, the seed companies will still get the data on the performance of their cultivars under our environment, and that data will also be shared with onion growers.”
