A LANDMARK IN ONION PRODUCTION FOR FOOD SECURITY: WHITE PEARL, A NEW ONION CULTIVAR SUITABLE FOR SOUPS AND SALADS

Abstract

The current study was designed to introduce the new onion cultivar WHITE PEARL (VRIO-1) it was derived through recurrent selection from a source population. The source population was made and selection was done in the succeeding years based on bulb shape, bulb color, bulb diameter and bulb weight. Same procedure was followed until desired purity is reached. The preliminary evaluation of the variety was conducted during the years 2015-16 at Vegetable Research Institute, Faisalabad. Due to its encouraging yield performance, it was tested in station yield and multilocational/zonal trials during the years 2017-19 at four different locations (Vegetable Research Institute, Faisalabad; Vegetable Research Sub-Station, Raiwind, Vegetable Research Sub-Station, Multan & Regional Agricultural Research Institute, Bahawalpur). The variety WHITE PEARL is distinguishing in terms of bulb shape, bulb diameter and pungency than check variety Phulkara. Bulb colour is white at mature stage, which is quite attractive to the consumers. In case of disease studies no serious pathological disease has been recorded. White Pearl is moderately resistant to diseases like stemphylium leaf blight, downy mildew and purple blotch. Similarly, the check variety Phulkara is also moderately resistant to these diseases. Its shelf life is comparable to check variety Phulkara. This variety is recommended to be used for autumn cultivation as well as cultivation through nursery sets.