Articles
Variability of Estonian potato onion (Allium cepa var. aggregatum) genotypes
Article number
1439_18
Pages
131 – 138
Language
English
Abstract
Potato onion has been cultivated on the shores of Lake Peipus in the eastern part of Estonia since the 17th century.
Also nowadays, each household has its onion field where it is cultivated in a four-year cycle, starting from onion sets up to producing seed.
It has been a valuable material for research, breeding, and conservation as a genetic and cultural heritage.
A widely known Estonian potato onion ‘Jõgeva 3’ was bred from the selections of local variety Peipsi onion at the Centre of Estonian Rural Research and Knowledge (METK) in the 1960s.
The main objective of this study was to collect and explore the variability of onions from different households and preserve them in the Estonian genebank.
Onion sets were collected from 39 households in nine villages in the Lake Peipus area and two from other regions of Estonia in 2014. Field tests with 20 sets of each accession and the control, ‘Jõgeva 3’ were conducted at the METK. During the growing period, the disease assessment and estimation of the number of leaves per bulb, length and width of the longest leaf were carried out.
The weight of each cluster and average weight of bulbs, content of sugars, ascorbic acid, and dry matter were determined after harvest.
The results of this study indicated a high variability among the examined potato onions.
The number of bulbs in a cluster ranged from 1.6 to 6.7 (average 3.3), and the total weight of the cluster ranged from 110 to 552 g (average 226 g). The ‘Jõgeva 3’ had on average four bulbs in a cluster with a total weight of 253 g.
The positive attributes of ‘Jõgeva 3’, such as good storage, disease resistance, and high sugar content were confirmed in our comparative analysis.
Also nowadays, each household has its onion field where it is cultivated in a four-year cycle, starting from onion sets up to producing seed.
It has been a valuable material for research, breeding, and conservation as a genetic and cultural heritage.
A widely known Estonian potato onion ‘Jõgeva 3’ was bred from the selections of local variety Peipsi onion at the Centre of Estonian Rural Research and Knowledge (METK) in the 1960s.
The main objective of this study was to collect and explore the variability of onions from different households and preserve them in the Estonian genebank.
Onion sets were collected from 39 households in nine villages in the Lake Peipus area and two from other regions of Estonia in 2014. Field tests with 20 sets of each accession and the control, ‘Jõgeva 3’ were conducted at the METK. During the growing period, the disease assessment and estimation of the number of leaves per bulb, length and width of the longest leaf were carried out.
The weight of each cluster and average weight of bulbs, content of sugars, ascorbic acid, and dry matter were determined after harvest.
The results of this study indicated a high variability among the examined potato onions.
The number of bulbs in a cluster ranged from 1.6 to 6.7 (average 3.3), and the total weight of the cluster ranged from 110 to 552 g (average 226 g). The ‘Jõgeva 3’ had on average four bulbs in a cluster with a total weight of 253 g.
The positive attributes of ‘Jõgeva 3’, such as good storage, disease resistance, and high sugar content were confirmed in our comparative analysis.
Authors
I. Bender, P. Põldma, J.-S. Tamm, B. Koll, I. Roman, A. Michelson, K. Annamaa
Keywords
local variety, cluster, dry matter content, sugars, ascorbic acid
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