Layered learning

MOSES LAKE — The onion varietal trial in a field near Moses Lake is nearing harvest, but even once it’s in storage it’s still a work in progress. Like all farming, raising onions is a continual process of adjustment, which was highlighted during Onion Field Day on Thursday.

Co-organizer Carrie Wohleb, WSU Grant-Adams County Extension, said scientists planted 52 different varieties of onions. Brian Haddon, one of the many industry professionals in attendance, said farmers and industry experts were examining the onions for quality as they came from the field.

“Basically, comparing maturity, shape and uniformity,” he said.

“But this is only one piece of the pie,” Haddon added. “It’s also about how they store.”

While it’s important that the onions look good coming out of the field in September, he said, it’s just as important that they look good coming out of storage in February.

Tim Waters, WSU Benton-Franklin Extension and field day co-organizer, said the goal of the field day was to give onion farmers information they could use.

“We’ve got most of the varieties that are grown in the Basin all out here in one field, so growers and industry members can come out and look at them side by side, and compare and contrast,” Waters said. “So it kind of helps growers decide if there are new varieties they might want to try, see what (those varieties) look like in the field.”

The WSU field day was one of two in the Pacific Northwest this week, the other in the Treasure Valley, which straddles the Snake River and the Oregon-Idaho border. Like Central Washington, it’s one of the most productive onion-growing areas in the United States.

“This is what is known as Onion Week in the Northwest,” Haddon said.

Dave Whitwood, Caldwell, Idaho, is a plant breeder who developed some of the varieties in the test plot. He wanted to evaluate the results in the field and said he liked what he saw.

“We have varieties that are going to work in this marketplace,” he said.

Like other commodities, onion farmers grow for different markets. A processor making onion rings needs different qualities than a retailer selling in the fresh market, Wohleb said.

“Some (farmers) are marketing to a smaller onion, some want larger onions. Different buyers want different things,” she said.

Buyers may — or may not — also need longevity, Wohleb said.

“Not every onion is intended to be stored for a long, long time,” she said.

The onions in the trial also will be evaluated for their resistance to disease while in storage, she said.

“We’ll have a report out in September on yield and size distribution. And then we’ll have a report out in February on storage qualities and defects,” Wohleb said.

Field Day attracted industry specialists in fertilizers and soil qualities, pest and disease management, crop insurance, among others.

“Talking to the people that we work with,” said Quinn Dreher who works for Miller Chemical.

The field day also featured WSU researchers updating participants on that research and on changes in the industry.

Speakers reviewed changes to reporting rules for the Endangered Species Act, and what that might mean for pesticide, fungicide and fertilizer application. Other speakers briefly reviewed the results of trials on irrigation methods and the effect of rapid temperature changes on onion growth. They also covered pest control methods and some of the possible changes coming.

Wohleb said it was the 38th year for cultivar trials.

“My predecessor started this. So it’s important enough to the onion industry here in Washington that it’s been supported and carried on for that long,” she said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com. Additional photos and information will be included in an upcoming edition of our sister publication, the Basin Business Journal.