Information
As a biennial species, onion is a slow crop. The first year produces the bulb, the second year is for the generation of new seeds. At Enza Zaden, we prefer to speed things up: we developed a protocol with 1 cycle every 8 months - by squeezing 3 grow years in 2 calendar years. We devised a smart play of varying ranges of day-length, while finetuning the temperatures in controlled growing chambers and optimizing plant nutrition. This way, we can breed at high speed!
Our breeding strategy is like playing ping pong. Switching back and forth – like in a game of table tennis – between our breeding grounds in Italy, The Netherlands, USA, New Zealand and Australia. It gives us a great advantage over other breeding strategies, and it allows us to develop highly flexible varieties, with adaptation to different environments. The intensive use of modern technological tools helps to improve the uniformity, speeds up the parental lines development and gives us a better purity control in our commercial seeds. ”
The humble onion is a strong vegetable. We have several examples of varieties that could be classified as "low input" with great commercial value. Furthermore, specific field or bench trials are aimed to select highly vigorous varieties with a strong tolerance to root and foliage diseases and herbicides. With our growers, we collaborate closely to breed the onions that fit their market, their environment, and their unique requirements. Together, we are playing to win.
Extra Long Day
Long Day
Intermediate Day
Short Day
Short Day overwintering onions
Bunching Onions
For information about our wide range of varieties, please take a look at our local websites (Spain, Italy, Mexico, Germany, France, USA, UK, Brazil, Russia, Africa) or contact your local Enza Zaden representative.