Agriculture Dept. develops new onion variety

By Gamini Warushamana

The Agriculture Department has developed a new variety of big onions with higher yield and low maturity period. Research on the new big onion variety has been conducted at the Mahailuppallama Field Crops Research and Development Institute since 2008.

Director of the Institute, Dr. W.M.W. Weerakoon said that since it is still at field trial stage it cannot be introduced as a variety but it is a promising line and it will be released to farmers in 2015.

In field trials conducted last year, this new line has given a yield of 37 tonnes per hectare is higher than the yield of Dambulla Selection, the local big onion variety that is popular among farmers today.

The highest yield recorded by Dambulla Selection last year was 32.5 tonnes. This year too field trials will be conducted in Dambulla, Galewella and Mahaweli areas, Dr. Weerakoon said.

The new line has the properties that Sri Lankan consumers prefer. Consumers usually prefer red or pink bulb varieties of big onions and this new line has pink bulbs.

The maturity period is 85 days and it also has vigorous seedlings compared to Dambulla Selection and good storage qualities, he said.