Onion World July/August 2021 by Columbia Media Group

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Table of Contents Magazines For Maximum Yield

ONION WORLD Volume 37, Number 5

July / August 2021

PO Box 333 Roberts, Idaho 83444 Telephone: (208) 520-6461

www.O n i o n W o r l d .n e t Onion World Contacts

6 To Disinfect or Not?

Do Postharvest Applications of Disinfectants Reduce Losses to Bacterial Bulb Rots in Storage?

10 Breeding for Resistance to Iris Yellow Spot 14 Harvest Essentials Buyers' Guide

21 US Exports, Imports of Onion Sets Trade Trends

Publisher / Advertising Manager Dave Alexander dave@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com Editor Denise Keller editor@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com Director of Operations Brian Feist brian@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com

EDITORIAL INFORMATION Onion World is interested in newsworthy material related to onion production and marketing. Contributions from all segments of the industry are welcome. Submit news releases, new product submissions, stories and photos via email to: editor@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com, or call (509) 697-9436.

ADVERTISING SALES For information on rates, mechanics, deadlines, list rental, direct mail, inserts or other information, call (208) 520-6461 or email: dave@onionworld.net

SUBSCRIPTIONS U.S. $24 per year Canada $40 per year Foreign $80 per year Payments may be made by check, Visa, MasterCard or American Express.

Researchers are working to evaluate the effects of applying disinfectants to onion bulbs in storage for management of bulb rots. See what their results showed on page 6.

On the Cover A crew harvests onions in Warden, Wash. in September 2020. Find a full selection of Harvest Essentials in our Buyers’ Guide on pages 14-16.

Onion World • July / August 2021

Departments 17 18 20 22 22

Calendar In the News New Product From the NOA Advertiser Index

Subscribe online at: www.OnionWorld.net or call (503) 724-3581. Email address changes/corrections to brian@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com or mail to: Onion World PO Box 333 Roberts, ID 83444 Onion World magazine (ISSN 1071-6653), is published eight times a year and mailed under a standard rate mailing permit at Idaho Falls, Idaho and at additional mailing offices. Produced by Columbia Media Group PO Box 333, Roberts, ID, 83444. Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose without the express written permission of Columbia Media Group. For information on reprints call (208) 520-6461.

Postharvest Disinfectants

To Disinfect or Not?

Do Postharvest Applications of Disinfectants Reduce Losses to Bacterial Bulb Rots in Storage? By Lindsey du Toit and Tim Waters, Washington State University

diversity of bacteria can infect onion plants and bulbs. Some infections cause symptoms on the leaves. Some infections result in leaves dying back into the neck, and some cause onion bulbs to rot. If infection of the neck and bulb occurs late in the season, symptoms usually do not develop by harvest. However, these latent infections can begin to rot bulbs after they have been harvested, cured and placed in storage or, even more significantly, after all production, storage and shipping costs have been incurred and the bulbs have been received at the final market. In fact, bacterial diseases of onion have been estimated to cause $60 million in losses annually in the United States. “Stop the Rot” is a four-year research and extension project funded by the Specialty Crops Research Initiative of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). This team of scientists from across the U.S. and South Africa brings diverse expertise to research bacterial diseases of onion. The goal is to develop practical, economically sound strategies for bacterial pathogen detection and management to improve the profitability and sustainability of onion production.

A vital part of developing the project and guiding the research as progress is made is the input received from a Stakeholder Advisory Panel of 15 onion growers and industry representatives from across the U.S. Their grassroots expertise and routine guidance ensures the project addresses grower priorities and provides tools that will be of value to onion growers.

Postharvest Application of Disinfectants to Onion Bulbs in Storage In an effort to reduce losses to bulb rots in storage, some growers treat onion bulbs with disinfectants immediately after harvest. The bulbs are treated in storage with products such as ozone or various formulations of hydrogen peroxide + peroxyacetic acid. When developing the Stop the Rot proposal, the Stakeholder Advisory Panel placed a high priority on evaluating how effectively such postharvest treatments of onion bulbs with disinfectants prevent bulb rots from developing in storage. Researchers on the team hypothesized that treatment of bulbs with disinfectants has little to no effect on internal bulb rots as the products do not penetrate the outer, dry wrapper scales of onion bulbs. Bacterial and fungal bulb rots do not spread between bulbs in storage. Rather, bulb rots develop during storage as a result of latent internal infections becoming active as the bulbs age physiologically and/or conditions become favorable (warmer and more humid) in storage or during shipment.

2020-21 Postharvest Disinfectant Trial

Figure 1. Tim Waters works inside a trailer that is used to treat onion bulbs in commercial storage facilities. The equipment was used to dose each disinfectant product onto a plate heated to 750 degrees Fahrenheit inside the pipe with propane, while a blower forced air through the metal pipe and into the storage container.

Onion World • July / August 2021

A trial was planted at the Washington State University Pasco Vegetable Extension Farm in 2020 to evaluate the effects of applying disinfectants to onion bulbs in storage, immediately after harvest, for management of bulb rots caused by two bacterial pathogens found commonly in the Columbia Basin of Washington and northcentral Oregon, Pantoea agglomerans and Burkholderia gladioli pv. alliicola. About 24,000 acres of storage onion crops are grown in the Columbia Basin annually. The trial was a split plot, randomized complete block design with five replications of a factorial treatment design, with two inoculation treatments applied to main plots (plants inoculated or not inoculated with the two bacterial pathogens during the month before harvest) and six postharvest disinfectant treatments applied to bulbs harvested from the split plots: 1. Jet-Ag (hydrogen peroxide + peroxyacetic acid) 2. StorOx 5.0 (hydrogen peroxide + peroxyacetic acid) 3. Sanidate (hydrogen peroxide + peroxyacetic acid) 4. Ozone

5. One control treatment in which bulbs were thermofogged with water 6. A second control treatment of non-treated bulbs Each split plot consisted of a 34-inch-wide bed with two double-rows of onion plants x 15 feet long, including 5 feet of bed as a buffer between the ends of adjacent plots. The trial was planted on April 1, 2020, using pelleted seed of the cultivar Calibra. Bacterial inoculum consisted of an equal ratio of the two pathogens, each produced in nutrient broth and diluted to 108 CFU/ml in phosphate buffer. Inoculum was applied in the evening on July 30 (5 percent tops down) and Aug. 13 (50 percent tops down) with a CO2-pressurized backpack sprayer and three-nozzle boom (XR8003 tips, 32.8 gpa and 20 psi). The trial was irrigated by center pivot and managed using typical practices for the Columbia Basin. The plants also were irrigated with 0.12 inches of water in the late afternoon every other day from mid-July through August to favor bacterial infection. The bulbs were undercut on Aug. 26 (100 percent tops down) with a tractor-mounted rod-weeder. Fifty bulbs were then harvested from each split plot on Sept. 15 and placed in a mesh bag. Each postharvest disinfectant treatment was applied to five bags of 50 bulbs from inoculated plots and five bags of 50 bulbs harvested from non-inoculated plots. The products were applied to the bulbs in a steel shipping container (1,200 cubic feet) that was set up by a commercial company that specializes in treatment of storage facilities, in order to simulate treatment of a large-scale commercial facility. A thermofogging equipment trailer used by the company to treat onions in commercial storage units was used to apply each of the three formulations of hydrogen peroxide + peroxyacetic acid (Jet-Ag, StorOx 5.0 and Sanidate) to the bulbs by thermofogging. Each product was mixed with water (24 fl. oz. water + 24 fl. oz. product) and dripped at a rate of 8 fl. oz./ minute onto a metal plate heated to 750 degrees Fahrenheit with propane (Fig. 1). The vaporized product (thermofog) was pushed into the storage container by a blower and through a plastic pipe beneath

a perforated bin containing the 10 bags of onion bulbs (Fig. 2). Application of each product took 60 minutes, after which the air was circulated inside the sealed container for eight hours using a small fan. The container was then aerated, and the bags of onions moved to a commercial storage facility (40 degrees Fahrenheit, 70 percent relative humidity). For the thermofog control treatment, 48 fl. oz. of water was thermofogged for 60 minutes and circulated for eight hours in the sealed container, with bulbs then placed in storage. The ozone treatment was applied with an HE 500 commercial ozone generator operated inside the storage container near a circulating fan for eight hours to deliver 8,500 mg ozone per hour. The container was then aerated, and the bags of onions moved to a commercial storage facility. The second control treatment consisted of five bags of bulbs from inoculated plots and five bags of bulbs from noninoculated plots that were placed in storage without treatment. Bulbs harvested from inoculated and non-inoculated plots were placed in an additional five replicate bags to rate for bacterial bulb rots in October (pre-storage) by cutting each bulb vertically and rating the incidence of bacterial rot (percentage of bulbs with symptoms) and average severity of bulb rot (percentage of the cut bulb surface area with symptoms). On Feb. 26, 2021, after five months in storage, the bulbs in each bag were cut vertically and rated for incidence and severity of bacterial rot (Fig. 3). Data were analyzed statistically based on the experimental design, and treatment means were compared using Fisher’s protected least significant difference (LSD).

Results

The percentage of bulbs not treated with disinfectants that developed bacterial rot (incidence) averaged 27.1 ± 2.4 percent for bulbs harvested from inoculated plots compared to 0.8 ± 0.5 percent for bulbs harvested from non-inoculated plots (P <0.0001). Severity of bacterial bulb rot averaged 13.7 ± 1.3 percent for bulbs harvested from inoculated plots vs. 0.4 ± 0.3 percent for bulbs from non-inoculated plots (P <0.0001). These results demonstrate that the protocol used for inoculation,

Figure 2. Each thermofogged product was pushed through the pile of onions inside the bins via the gray plastic pipe, up through the perforated plastic bin containing bags of onions. The sides of the bins were wrapped in plastic film to force the air through the bags of onions.

OnionWorld.net

Postharvest Disinfectants

Figure 3. A crew works to cut and rate 20,000 onion bulbs for bacterial rot after five months in storage. Bulbs were harvested from nine field trials grown in Washington state in 2020 for the Stop the Rot project, including the postharvest disinfectant trial.

accompanied by frequent late-season irrigation, was very successful at establishing infection of bulbs. There was no difference in incidence or severity of bacterial rot evaluated at harvest (pre-storage) vs. post-storage for nontreated control bulbs (P = 0.6342 and 0.4608, respectively), i.e., there was no evidence of spread of infection between bulbs in storage, and most of the infections in the field had progressed into internal bulb rot by October. After five months in storage, the percentage of bulbs from inoculated plots that had bacterial rot was 28.8 percent vs. 1.7 percent for bulbs harvested from non-inoculated plots, and severity of bacterial rot was 15.2 vs. 0.7 percent, respectively (Fig. 4). None of the disinfectant treatments reduced the incidence (P = 0.9888) or severity of bacterial bulb rot (P = 0.9587) (Fig. 5), and there was no interaction of inoculation treatments with disinfectant treatments. The results of this trial indicate there was no benefit to applying ozone or any of the hydrogen peroxide + peroxyacetic acid products to onion bulbs immediately after harvest for managing bacterial rots. This supports the hypothesis of

Storage bulb rot

Invitation to Participate in Postharvest Disinfectant Trials in 2021

This postharvest disinfectant trial is being repeated in Washington state in 2021 and will be set up in Colorado by Mark Uchanski’s program at Colorado State University. In addition, we will run tests in commercial-scale onion storage facilities in Washington, Colorado and New York with growercooperators.

45 40 35 Storage bulb rot

researchers on the Stop the Rot team that the inability of such disinfectants to penetrate the dry wrapper scales of onion bulbs severely limits the potential value of applications for control of bulb rots since the products cannot enter the fleshy scales of the bulbs to prevent latent infections from developing into bulb rots in storage.

Incidence (%) Mean severity (%)

30 25 20 15 10

10 5 0

Non‐inoculated

Inoculated

Figure 4. Incidence (%) of onion bulbs with bacterial rot and average severity of bacterial rot for bulbs harvested from field plots inoculated or not inoculated with two bacterial pathogens of onion, Burkholderia gladioli pv. alliicola and Pantoea agglomerans.

Onion World • July / August 2021

Figure 5. Incidence (%) of onion bulbs with bacterial rot and average severity of bacterial rot for bulbs harvested from field plots inoculated with Burkholderia gladioli pv. alliicola and Pantoea agglomerans and treated with the disinfectants Jet-Ag, StorOx 2.0, Sanidate or ozone. The bulbs were then evaluated for bacterial rot after five months in storage.

For each cooperator, replicate samples of onion bulbs will be removed from the commercial storage facility just prior to the bulbs in that facility being treated with a disinfectant. Following application of the treatment and aeration of the storage facility, the samples of onion bulbs will be replaced in storage and monitored after approximately five months to assess if there is less bacterial rot or fungal rot in treated bulbs than in non-treated bulbs. Economic analyses of these results will be completed by Greg Colson, agricultural economist at the University of Georgia. Onion growers or packers who would like to participate in the study in 2021 are welcome to contact Lindsey du Toit (dutoit@wsu.edu, (360) 848-6140) or Tim Waters (twaters@wsu.edu, (509) 545-3511). We also welcome feedback on the project. Authors’ note: This work is supported by the Specialty Crops Research Initiative Award 2019-51181-30013 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Start Connecting With Stop the Rot • Find trial results and extension resources at www.alliumnet.com/projects/stop-the-rot. • Watch videos on diagnosing and managing bacterial rots on our YouTube playlist. • Sign up to receive Stop the Rot newsletters a few times a year by emailing stoptherot.project@gmail.com.

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Iris Yellow Spot

Breeding for Resistance to Iris Yellow Spot By Chris Cramer and Ivette Guzmán, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University

ris yellow spot (IYS), caused by the Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV), appears as small necrotic, irregular or diamond-shaped, straw-colored lesions that are found on leaves and flowering scapes (Fig. 1). These lesions can grow in size and coalesce into larger lesions encompassing an entire leaf or girdle a scape that results in lodging. IYSV is vectored mainly by onion thrips, the most important insect pest of onion in the U.S. Juvenile thrips acquire IYSV by feeding on infected tissue and transmit IYSV to healthy plants through adulthood. Both issues can cause reductions in bulb yield. Figure 1. Straw-colored Iris yellow spot lesions can be seen on these onion leaves.

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Onion thrips have shown a feeding preference for onions with waxy leaves. Therefore, onion cultivars with less wax on their leaves will often have fewer thrips. Currently, there are no cultivars upon which thrips do not feed and that do not express IYS when challenged with viruliferous thrips, IYSV and conducive disease-causing environmental conditions.

Research

Our breeding program at New Mexico State University (NMSU) has been working for 12 years to develop onion germplasm that develops fewer IYS symptoms when thrips and IYSV are present. Our most recent work is being funded by grant #2018-03407 from the SCRI, USDA NIFA program. The past two years, we have been evaluating NMSU onion germplasm that has less wax on the leaves, is less attractive to onion thrips and develops fewer IYS symptoms than onion cultivars with waxy foliage. With our research, establishing the proper field layout for thrips and IYS evaluation is essential. Over the years, we have developed a field screening method that introduces viruliferous onion thrips to the evaluation field, promoting the spread of thrips and IYS throughout the field during the evaluation period. This method ensures that all onion plants being evaluated can be fed upon by thrips and can develop IYS symptoms. Viruliferous thrip-infested bulbs from the previous year’s evaluation are placed around the edges of the field (Fig. 2). A short-day onion cultivar is autumn-sown on beds adjacent to beds containing planted onion bulbs. Transplants of the onion germplasm being evaluated are placed on beds in between the short-day onion beds. Onion plants are rated for IYS on a scale of 0 to 4, where 0 = no symptoms; 1 = one to two small lesions per leaf; 2 = more than two medium-sized lesions; 3 = lesions coalescing on more than 25 percent of the leaf; 4 = more than 50 percent leaf death. The same 10 plants per plot are rated at four different times two weeks apart during the growing season.

Figure 2. Researchers use this field layout for evaluating onion germplasm for reduced Iris yellow spot symptoms. Seed stalks are produced from the previous year’s bulbs. Plants of an autumn-sown short-day onion cultivar are growing on beds adjacent to those beds with seed stalks. Plants on beds with orange flags are being evaluated for Iris yellow spot symptoms.

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In 2020, four NMSU germplasm lines that had been selected for reduced IYS disease development were compared with Stockton Early Yellow, a cultivar with waxy leaves, for IYS disease development. At 11 weeks after transplanting, plants of Stockton Early Yellow had more severe disease symptoms than plants of the four

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Iris Yellow Spot IYS Severity Ratings 11 Weeks - 6/1 13 Weeks - 6/15

15 Weeks - 6/29 17 Weeks - 7/13

Total Number of Thrips per Plant 2.2

1.8 1.6

1.1

1.2

1.1

1.0

0.8

0.9

0.8 0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

50.5

46.5

33.1

32.2 30

0.4 10

12-243

12-337

12-236

12-238

Stockton Early Yellow

Figure 3. Iris yellow spot (IYS) disease ratings for five onion entries rated at four dates in 2020

other entries (Fig. 3). Two weeks later, IYS severity had increased for all entries; however, plants of Stockton Early Yellow still had more severe symptoms. At 15 and 17 weeks after transplanting, plants of NMSU 12-236, 12-243 and 12-337 had less severe IYS symptoms than plants of NMSU 12-238 and Stockton Early Yellow.

34.5

31.7

21.9

21.7

19.4 13.9

9.9

12-243

48 43.5

42.2

6.2

4.3 0

72.7

60.7

60 50

1.4

0.8

17 Weeks - 7/13

1.6

1.5

1.2

13 Weeks - 6/15 15 Weeks - 6/29

1.6

9 Weeks - 5/18 11 Weeks - 6/1

2.2

12-337

5.6 12-236

7.5 12-238

3.4 Stockton Early Yellow

Figure 4. Total onion thrips per plant for five onion entries counted at five dates in 2020

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12-337

12-236

12-243

Figure 5. Onion plants of five entries grow using normal irrigation (pictured on the top) or deficit irrigation (on the bottom) 17 weeks after transplanting.

Onion World • July / August 2021

Some of the early differences in IYS disease severity between plants of Stockton Early Yellow and the four NMSU germplasm lines could be attributed to differences in thrips number per plant. At nine and 11 weeks after transplanting, plants of Stockton Early Yellow had a greater number of thrips than plants of other entries (Fig. 4). A deficit irrigation treatment was placed upon plants to determine the effect of plant stress on IYS symptom development. By 17 weeks after transplanting, plants grown using the deficit irrigation treatment exhibited more severe IYS symptoms than plants grown using the normal irrigation treatment (Fig. 5). From this work, several NMSU onion breeding lines show promise for reduced attractiveness to onion thrips and less severe IYS disease symptoms when conditions are conducive for both pest and disease issues.

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Harvest Essentials Buyers' Guide Agri-Stor Companies • www.agri-stor.com Agri-Star Control Panel

Agri-Stor Companies helps growers take control of their onion storage with Gellert’s Agri-Star Control Panel. Since 1964, Agri-Stor has designed and sold thousands of Agri-Star panels for a wide range of post-harvest products. Through these years of application experience and university-based research, Agri-Stor Companies has developed its most user-friendly, advanced control panel yet. Features include a full-color, interactive touchscreen, easy-tounderstand programming and internet capabilities with an intuitive app. Fully adaptable to growers’ onion storages, the Agri-Star panel can handle everything including curing mode, burners, humidity, refrigeration, airflow, temperature, carbon dioxide levels, heat and lights. When growers match the Agri-Star panel with Gellert’s climate control equipment, their onions are wrapped in the perfect climate, extending their life and quality.

Chinook Equipment, Inc. • www.chinookequipment.com edp Electro-bagger

The Electro-bagger from edp Australia, model EB-2218-DF, is currently in stock. The machine has added control features on the touchscreen such as bag counters for each of the two preset programs. Users can adjust machine and belt speeds as well as monitor weight averages. The model also has pneumatic bag clamps and the ability to do bags or cartons with optional carton holders. A photo eye also can be used when bagging to ensure the belts won’t run without a bag in place.

Greentronics • www.greentronics.com RiteTrace

Greentronics has added load-by-load field-to-storage tracking to its RiteYield root crop yield monitor product. The product, RiteTrace, is designed to automate harvest and storage data recording. This provides onion growers with a wide range of reports as well as field and 3D storage maps detailing where each load originated and is stored. Maps allow growers to link areas in storages and fields to better understand quality issues and improve crop management discussions and communications with buyers and processors. Reports include yields by variety and field, and loads by field, storage and truck. Data points are date/time stamped, and maps and reports work well with GAP compliance. Greentronics offers yield data integration with John Deere GS3 2630 and Trimble FMx and TMx monitors, allowing operators to view yield maps in real time. Yield maps offer visual insights to yield variability across fields and farms. Data are useful in calculating nutrient removal and generating variable rate application prescription maps. from FIELD

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Onion World • July / August 2021

IPL Macro • www.iplmacro.com Plastic Bins

IPL Macro’s farm-to-harvest containers and totes are specifically designed to increase efficiency and reduce waste for growers and packers. Macro specializes in heavy-duty bulk containers and totes that can withstand the daily pounding that harvesting containers typically receive, while carefully protecting the vegetables inside. The highly engineered bins protect produce and reduce damage in the field and during transport. Macro containers have smooth, nonporous surfaces that are easy to sanitize and won’t trap debris, breed bacteria or absorb chemicals. Plastic bins are lightweight and have consistent tare weights, as they do not absorb liquid. Macro’s plastic bins are HACCP and GAP compliant and FDA approved. Rounded corners and smooth interior reduce the risk of product scuffs, cuts and abrasions. Ventilation slots throughout the bins improve airflow, and heat absorption is reduced, which helps keep produce cool and increases the shelf life and quality.

Lee Shuknecht & Sons, Inc. • www.shuknecht.com SP-132 Onion Harvester

Lee Shuknecht & Sons, Inc.’s SP-132 is a self-propelled two-bed harvester that eliminates windrowing while simultaneously direct loading two beds, for a total production width of 132 inches using 47-inch chains. This low-maintenance mechanical harvester provides the highest percentage topping of green and/or dry onions of all Shuknecht’s onion harvesters while it harvests two to three tons per minute. Powered by a standard 190-hp Cummins engine, the solo operator seated in an air conditioned cab has complete control over blower speed, primary and rear elevator speeds, cutter bar speed and height and ground speed. The two-bed harvester features a 4-foot highcapacity boom and easily controlled front pickup elevators with spring-assist floats. Available options include a moveable 4- or 5-foot dipper, rotating cab, stainless blower housing liners and a 240-hp engine. Digital readouts for the blower, primary chain and ground speed can be included, as well as hydraulic adjustment front elevator gauge wheels. Ground sync primary chain control, a posi-traction four-wheel-drive system and hydraulic trash chain drive can all be built into the SP-132. The company also custom manufactures pull-behind models with the same quality and topping system to accommodate smaller onion growers.

Rietveld Equipment • www.rietveldequipment.com PIM Weighing and Bagging Machines

Rietveld Equipment is marketing, selling, installing and servicing PIM weighing and bagging machines. PIM is offering applications for carton-filling and bagging in a range from one-half pound through 50 pounds. PIM utilizes a belt feeding system, intelligent software, self-learning control system and superior sensor technology, which results in more accurate weighing and speeds up to 18 50-pound discharges per minute with a 10-scale machine. In addition to weighing and bagging machines from PIM, Rietveld Equipment offers full onion lines from Allround, dust extraction systems from Meconaf, optical sorters from Protec and packaging machines from Tosca.

SYMACH • www.symach.nl/en/applications/5/onions.html Symach Rotax Palletizing Head

Symach has introduced the Rotax, a palletizing gripper head design to supplement the company’s existing lineup of machine features. This new design enables two onion filling machines to feed into one palletizing machine, saving customers additional machinery expense and floor space. The Rotax palletizing head features a four-way design, allowing bags to be fed in no matter the existing head position, meaning the palletizing bucket doesn’t have to return to the home position to receive the next bag of onions. Current Symach bag palletizing machines can stack up to 36 bags per minute (bpm); the Rotax head increases that rate to 46 bpm, a 25 percent gain. Symach designs and builds bag palletizing solutions to suit customers’ needs. The company manufactures everything from pallet dispensers to high-speed wrapping systems, all custom designed to customer requirements. OnionWorld.net

Harvest Essentials Buyers' Guide Top Air • www.topair.ag Onion Topper Loader

The Top Air Onion Topper Loader continues to be a harvester of choice for growers around the world because of its gentle handling, superior removal of dirt/debris, and efficiency and reliability. It is available in one-, two-, three- and four-bed models with a variety of bed width configurations and options to fit operations of all sizes. The XT (extra tall) models deliver high capacity while virtually eliminating bruising caused by rollback on the discharge elevator thanks to the tall profile.

Turbo Top • www.turbotopharvester.com TT-268 Turbo Top Harvester

Turbo Top’s TT-268 is a self-propelled two-bed onion harvester. Green onions are one of Turbo Top’s specialties, allowing growers to start harvest earlier and control curing. Turbo Top is capable of day and night harvest and can work through the toughest conditions. The TT-268 has dual 68-inch-wide pickup elevators for a total harvest pickup width of 190 inches, allowing onions to be picked up how they are grown without windrowing to reduce damage. TT-268 is powered by a 410-hp John Deere Tier IV Final Package engine. It has infinite cab control of fan speed, primary chain speed, ground speed, load boom speed/movement, cutter bar height and front elevator depth. It also features an exclusive large topping area to eliminate weeds/debris and allow even the greenest tops to be sorted before topping. Turbo Top comes in different models and has many options to fit growers’ needs.

Univerco • www.univerco.com Two-Row Onion Harvesters

With 30 years of experience in building one-row onion harvesters, Univerco has introduced its new two-row onion harvesters. The two-row models are available in both short-day and long-day onion versions. Both units have a similar harvest capacity per day, a steering axle to reduce turning radius on headlands and a system of three cameras so operators can easily monitor the key functions of the machine. The short-day model has even more options available such as a sorting table, brushes under the topper table to keep the rollers clean at all times, and more angle and speed adjustments of the topper table. These improvements were made in an effort to minimize mechanical damage to onions.

Verbruggen • www.verbruggen-palletizing.com Palletizing Solutions

Verbruggen has more than 30 years of experience in stacking onions and other agricultural products. A team of engineers is continually innovating and developing the company’s machines and software, allowing Verbruggen to offer effective palletizing solutions for agricultural products. Machines can stack bags of onions in the range of 5 pounds to 120 pounds and offer high flexibility for future changes in product sizes and patterns. Systems can palletize single bags, bags in boxes and boxes/crates and can perfectly stable stack to the height of 8 feet. Machinery includes an easy-to-use operator station and is low maintenance for high up time. The company offers regionally based sales and service, as well as remote-monitored support.

Onion World • July / August 2021

Expect More Than Great Seed

Summer Onion Show August 25 • Wilder, Idaho

Calendar Nov. 17-18 Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association Conference and Trade Show

Aug. 10 Utah Onion Association Summer Onion Field Day

Three Rivers Convention Center Kennewick, Wash. Sheri Nolan, (509) 585-5460 or www.pnva.org

••

Aug. 25 Crookham Summer Onion Show Wilder, Idaho www.crookham.com

Weber/Davis County area Dan Drost, (435) 797-2258 or dan.drost@usu.edu

•

Aug. 25 Malheur Experiment Station Onion Variety Day

Ontario, Ore. (541) 889-2174 or https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/mes/events

• •

July 14-17 National Onion Association Summer Convention Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Nashville, Tenn. www.onions-usa.org

Oct. 28-30 PMA Fresh Summit New Orleans www.freshsummit.com

OnionWorld.net

In the News

Eqraft Equips New York Onion Facility

Eqraft, a Netherlands-based company, has installed its first optical onion grader on U.S. soil. The newly installed Eqrader went in at Big O Farms in Elba, New York, four years after a fire destroyed a packing house at the farm. The machine, which inspects onion quality both externally and internally, allows the facility to process two to three times more onions per hour and reduces hand grading by 75 percent, according to Big O Farms’ Max Torrey.

Tong Invests in New Facility

Tong Engineering has invested in new powder-coating and shot-blasting systems at its new manufacturing plant in Spilsby, England. The new shot-blasting unit uses a powerful technique to clean the surface of metal and create a quality finish to allow for optimum adhesion of paint. The steel preparation process is the first stage of a three-part paint system at Tong, in which metal is first shot blasted, followed by the application of a durable rustinhibiting primer and then finished with a premium quality top coat, before it is cured at high temperatures. The new equipment is designed to increase efficiency in the manufacturing plant and improve paint durability and finish of Tong equipment, according to the company.

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Onion World • July / August 2021

45,000# / Hour. $229,000 Call 509-765-8895 or 509-770-7779 E-mail: hansenproduce@gmail.com for more information and detailed pictures

Vive Hires Midwest Regional Sales Manager

Blaine Bishop recently joined Vive Crop Protection as Midwest regional sales manager. Bishop will be supporting distributors, retailers and growers from Wisconsin to Kentucky to drive the awareness and adoption of Vive’s precision chemistry products, including the introduction of AZterknot, a new 3-in-1 biological/chemical/Allosperse fungicide. Bishop, who has previous experience as a product manager and chemical account manager, earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture systems management from the University of Missouri – Columbia. Onion World Buyers Guide_Sept2018_Layout 1 9/25/2018 9:17 AM Page 1

American Takii Grows Vegetable Department

Mitchell Young is filling the newly created position of long-day onion product manager for the American Takii vegetable division. Young has worked for American Takii since 2013. Prior to joining Takii, he held positions with Cornell University and Birds Eye. Young will continue to play a role in technical sales and product support for American Takii on the Eastern Seaboard and in eastern Canada.

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Nampa, Idaho • HQ (208) 442-5251

Washington & Western Oregon (509) 551-4060

Lancaster & San Joaquin Valley (661) 397-5717

Skagit Valley, Washington (360) 941-7503

Desert Southwest (760) 398-2729

Florida, Georgia & The Carolinas (912) 585-8934

Colorado & New Mexico (970) 396-9728

Rio Grande Valley & West Texas (956) 618-5574

Idaho, East Oregon, Utah & Nevada (208) 890-4549

Winter Garden Texas (830) 278-5850

16155 North High Desert Street • Nampa, ID 83687 WWW.SEEDWAY.COM OnionWorld.net

New Product

Vive Introduces New Fungicide

AZterknot fungicide from Vive Crop Protection has received approval from the U.S. EPA. AZterknot combines the benefits of biologicals with the performance of chemistry and the ease of Allosperse to provide disease control and plant health benefits, according to Vive. In onions, AZterknot can be used to control Rhizoctonia damping off, leaf blotch, powdery mildew, downy mildew, purple blotch, leaf blight, rust and Botrytis leaf blight. The fungicide contains two active ingredients - Reynoutria extract and azoxystrobin - as well as Allosperse, a proprietary nano-polymer technology that allows previously incompatible products to be mixed and applied in one application. Registered in a broad range of crops for soil and foliar applications, AZterknot will be available this summer. Visit www.vivecrop.com.

AREA SALES SPECIALISTS: Travis Whitney (WA, OR, CO) (509) 591-2948 Sarah Beaver (OR, ID) (208) 550-5565 Brett Ross (OR, ID, UT) (208) 504-9154 Grant Aitken (CA, NV) (209) 712-3665

BASF Vegetable Seeds www.nunhemsusa.com

Onion World • July / August 2021

Trade Trends US Exports, Imports of Onion Sets

By Mark Wocial, Certified Global Business Professional, Wocial & Associates LLC

he U.S. Census Bureau International Trade Statistics distinguish between not-certified organic and certified organic onion sets for export purposes. After several years of increases, U.S. exports of onion sets declined last year to 90,000 metric tons (MT), valued at $47 million. While exports of not-certified organic onion sets increased, the decline last year was due to a very sharp drop in exports of certified organic onion sets. In 2020, exports of not-certified organic onion sets reached 82,000 MT, valued at $42 million. Mexico was the largest export destination. Shipments to Mexico reached 43,000 MT, valued at $23 million. Exports to Canada amounted to almost 14,000 MT, valued at $5 million. Taiwan was the third largest foreign destination (13,000 MT), followed by Panama (3,200 U.S. exports of onion sets U.S. exports of onion sets

138

150

117

100 50

MT), the United Kingdom (3,100 MT) and not-certified organic and certified organic Nicaragua (1,300 MT). onion sets for import purposes. U.S. In 2019, exports of certified organic imports of onion sets remained fairly onion sets reached almost 59,000 MT, unchanged in the last few years. In 2020, valued at $27 million, which represented U.S. exports of onion sets imports amounted to 9,000 MT, valued 40 percent of all onion set exports. Last at close to $6138 million. In the past several 150 year, exports dropped to only 7,700 MT, 117 years, a vast majority of imported onion valued at $4.7 million. In the last several sets came from Canada. In 2020, Mexico 90 years, exports to Mexico represented, on was the largest supplier (3,000 MT), 100 69 by Canada (2,000 MT), Spain average, over 90 percent of shipments. followed 53 47 In 2019, shipments of certified organic (1,800 MT) and the Netherlands (1,000 50 onion sets to Mexico reached 57,000 MT. MT). These countries accounted for 84 In 2020, exports to Mexico fell to only percent of U.S. imports. Onion sets were 4,600 MT. Other international also imported from Peru, China, Chile, 0 markets for certified organic onion sets last year India and2019 Colombia. 2018 2020 included Panama (1,400 MT), followed by Author’s note: This information is based the U.K. (900 MT), Australia (210 MT) USD x million on the author’sMT x 1,000 analysis of the international and the Dominican Republic (150 MT). trade data collected by the U.S. Census The U.S. Census Bureau International Bureau Foreign Trade Division. Trade Statistics do not distinguish between U.S. imports of onion sets

U.S. imports of onion sets

9 6

4 2 0

2018

2019 USD x million

2020

2018

2019 USD x million

MT x 1,000

2020 MT x 1,000

U.S. imports of onion sets 12

10 8

9 6

4 2 0

2018

2019 USD x million

2020 MT x 1,000

OnionWorld.net

From the NOA

Layers of Progress

By René Hardwick, National Onion Association Director of Public and Industry Relations

he National Onion Association (NOA) is not only made up of members, but history. After three long years, the National Onion Association’s history book, “Layers of Progress: Over a Century of Advocacy,” is complete. If you want to see how the organization evolved, starting in 1913 evolving into modern times, you’ll want this book. It’s like a history book on steroids, with great pictures throughout the years. We hope this book sparks interest in what makes the NOA special to its membership. Without many members’ hard work and steadfast industry interest in longevity, we wouldn’t have the association we have today.

Members can get involved in the organization’s next 100 years by being a part of the organization’s many committees. Members can be a part of the industry export committee, or membership, promotions or legislative committees. This history book was born in the organization’s history committee, made up of longstanding members of NOA. Members who are listed as the main contacts for member organizations will receive a book along with their membership directory and certificate. The NOA would like to thank those who put so much effort into its creation, including our history committee, Kim Reddin, our former public and industry relations director, and the many donors who helped fund this project: • Jean Hoshiko • Ag-Pak • Acme Bag Company • Champion Seed (now known as Seedway) • Decade Products • Garner-Lanfeld Packaging • South Georgia Equipment • Ed Flake Brokerage • Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Growers Association • Malheur County Onion Growers Association Reddin spent the last two and a half years combing through existing work and chronicling the NOA’s most recent history, as well as inserting photography through the years into this edition. Members who would like to purchase additional copies may do so. Books cost $30, which includes shipping. You can order them by calling Courtney Herbst at (970) 353-5895 or emailing cherbst@ onions-usa.org. Advertiser Index

There are many in the industry today who have let their memberships lapse or who have decided to not pay into the association. We’d encourage all to take a second look. The NOA is first and foremost an onion industry organization. Our leadership takes the onion message to the hallowed halls of Congress annually and is a steady steward of the industry’s needs and wants and delivers it to our nation’s policymakers. Our leadership listens to members’ concerns and advocates for the industry’s interests. We need all the membership we can get to face some serious issues ahead of us all: a potential ban of chlorpyrifos and other important pesticides, international trade, trucking and onion movement, and immigration reform.

Onion World • July / August 2021

American Takii .................................................2 Bejo ...............................................................10 Chinook Equipment .......................................12 Clearwater Supply .........................................20 CMI ................................................................18 Crookham ......................................................17 Gearmore ......................................................13 Gowan .............................................................9 Gowan Seed ..................................................13 Hansen Produce ............................................18 L&M ...............................................................21 NOA ...............................................................20 Nunhems .......................................................20 Redwood Empire Awning ..............................20 Rietveld Equipment .........................................5 Seedway ........................................................19 Seminis ..........................................................23 Teleos Ag Solutions .......................................24 Top Air..............................................................3 Verbruggen .................................................... 11

For more than 150 years, the Seminis® seed heritage has been building a portfolio of unique, great-tasting onion varieties that offer consistency and produce vigorous plants with high yield potential. Curious about the development of our onion varietals? Visit our website to learn about our onion portfolio innovations, product highlights and agronomic tips.

Visit bit.ly/SeminisOnions

Teleos Ag Solutions

Exclusive, Global Distributor of Telone®, the World’s Best Defense Against Nematodes

Telone II is a preplant soil fumigant for managing the major species of nematodes that negatively impact onion production, including stubby-root, root-knot, lesion, stem & bulb, as well as pesky wire worms. By applying Telone before planting, you create a zone of protection around delicate developing root systems, leading to healthier plants and higher yields. A custom blend of Telone and chloropicrin can also help combat soil borne diseases such as pink root, for an effective all-in-one preplant solution for your onions.

Contact your Telone Specialist for more information on how Telone or a Telone/Chloropicrin blend can set you up for a successful onion season.

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Telone®™ Trademark of the Dow Chemical Company. Telone is a federally Restricted Use Pesticide. Always read and follow label directions.