CULTIVAR TRIALS OF PICKLING ONION IN SOUTHERN ITALY

Rainfall shortage during spring and early summer, high temperature and sandy soil influenced negatively the yield of late maturing cultivars. In the first experiment the highest yield /3.5 t/ha/, expressed as dry matter, was obtained by the cv. Bianca precocissima di Barletta. Among the promising cultivars, the "Bianca di giugno" and "Bianca di luglio" showed the highest dry matter and soluble solid content. In the second trial the most promising cultivars were: "Bianca precocissima di Pompei", "Bianca di aprile", "Bianca di Barletta", "Bianca di giugno", "White sweet Spanish Utah Jumbo", "Bianca precocissima di Barletta" and "White creole". Last one showed the highest dry matter content /18 %/ and the highest percentage of bulbs /74 %/ under 20 mm of diameter. In the third trial the highest yield, 5.2 t/ha, was obtained by the cv. Borettana. In all experiments the highest yield stability was showed by the cv. Bianca di giugno. The early cultivars were more productive.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files)