Onion World December 2018 by Columbia Media Group

ONION WORLD Voice of the Industry • OnionWorld.net • December 2018

Harris Fresh

NOA President Doesn't Quit His Day Job

LONG-DAY Varieties Buyers' Guide Page 10

Table of Contents Magazines For Maximum Yield

ONION WORLD Volume 34, Number 8

December 2018 4 8 10 18 22

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

NOA President Doesn't Quit His Day Job Harris Fresh

Publisher / Advertising Manager Dave Alexander dave@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com

Results From 2018, Outlook For 2019

Editor Denise Keller editor@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com

Long-Day Varieties Buyers' Guide

Director of Operations Brian Feist brian@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com

Vidalia Onion Committee

PMA Offers Taste of Onion Industry Trends PMA Fresh Summit

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.

Chlorpyrifos

Staple Pesticide Threatened in Ban

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The 2018 Vidalia onion crop was one of the best in recent years despite snow and freezing temperatures at the start of the season. See the story on page 8.

On the Cover Doug Stanley is the National Onion Association president and manages a huge onion growing and packing operation. See guide starting on page 4. 2

Onion World â&#x20AC;˘ December 2018

Departments

25 25 26

Calendar New Products From the NOA

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 2017. 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.

Harris Fresh

NOA President Doesn’t Quit His Day Job

Story and photos by Dave Alexander, Publisher

ou know you are in ag country when a shiny new John Deere tractor greets you coming off the plane. Grower-focused posters and billboards proclaim the benefits of ag retailers, farm management software and irrigation pumps. Country Living magazine is as easy to find as People, Vogue and something called Us Weekly. Though not far from L.A., this place feels worlds away. The airport is calmer, more relaxed and rural. We’ve landed in Fresno, California, part of the largest ag production area in the world and a short jaunt from onion grower and packer Harris Fresh in Coalinga, California.

Not Typical

Harris Fresh is part of Harris Ranch that has a hotel, an amazing restaurant and race-winning horse-training facility

Harris Fresh is not a typical onion operation. Managed by National Onion Association (NOA) president Doug Stanley, Harris Fresh is just one part of a business empire that includes an internationally acclaimed inn and restaurant, beef operation and even a race horse training facility. Entrusted by owner John Harris to do what needs to be done at Harris Fresh and make decisions that he himself would make, Stanley appreciates

working for a man that he terms a “longterm strategist and hardened produce farmer.” Split equally between garlic and onions, Harris Fresh has 2,000 acres in production. The heart of Harris’ operation is a massive, 17,000-square-foot packing facility that runs 17,000 to 20,000 bags per day. This bustling building is unique in that it is a controlled environment, sealed from the outside and kept cool inside. Stanley explained that unlike growers in the Pacific Northwest who are worried about their onions freezing, Harris worries about getting the pulp temperature out of the onions and getting them stable. Onions are pre-cooled in the “game-changing” facility before they go on the truck, giving them better quality. The building is impressive. A side benefit has been a line of potential employees who want to work in a clean, cool and modern facility, in a time when finding workers is getting increasingly difficult. “We have 300 job applications right now,” Stanley said.

Doug Stanley and Miguel Avila man the control room at Harris Fresh. An optical sorter controls size and quality.

Onion World • December 2018

Though the equipment at Harris Fresh is capable of 27,000 sacks per day, space limits throughput to 20,000.

The facility has also positioned Harris well for what Stanley predicts will be evertightening Food Safety and Modernization Act rules in the future. “Food safety is going to sanitation as a preventative control. That is going to control more outbreaks and problems than anything you can do in a shed as long as you are practicing clean methods on a daily basis,” Stanley said. Preventative control for Stanley includes field sanitation, constant cleaning and the way onions are handled.

NOA Duties, Responsibilities

Appointed to the NOA presidency in 2016 to serve through 2018, Doug Stanley’s term has been extended through 2019 so that the association will have better continuity with the impending retirement of Executive Vice President Wayne Mininger in spring 2019. Ironically, though Stanley’s impending third year was unplanned, he thinks that the presidency should be three years anyway. He said he spent the first year getting his feet wet and figuring out how things work, especially in Washington D. C. It wasn’t until his second year that he felt things started to really get done. It was in this second year that connections and contacts blossomed and

Neftali Melgoza and Yesenia Ramirez check size and quality of white onions at Harris Fresh.

Harris Fresh

Sorters stay busy at Harris Fresh in Coalinga, Calif. during harvest.

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Onion World • December 2018

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became fruitful. At some point, he thinks the NOA may change its bylaws to make a three-year presidency standard. Getting things done is crucial for the NOA, and Stanley has taken on the challenge of keeping the Allium leafminer from spreading across the U.S. from imported European allium crops. Currently, there are no inspections for the leafminer at East Coast ports, and Stanley and the NOA want to get those inspections started. Before putting an invasive species in the “restricted” category, USDA APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service), must be petitioned at the state level before taking any action. “It’s disappointing,” Stanley said. “We were astounded to find out nothing can be done about this pest unless the state departments of agriculture petition APHIS. The last thing we need is another bug.” Particularly concerning to Stanley is the possibility that the insect could come into a port with no interest in agriculture. In that hypothetical instance, there would be no one petitioning APHIS to inspect imports, thereby providing a potential highway for the leafminer to enter the U.S.

Pictured, from Buyers left, are Guide_Sept2018_Layout Pedro Reynosa, Doug Stanley and Roque Ayala. Onion World 1 9/25/2018 9:17 AM They’re Page 1 the guys that “make things tick” at Harris Fresh.

130 Years Of Combined Knowledge

Doug Stanley, general manager of Harris Fresh, is also the National Onion Association president through 2019.

Get Involved

Stanley thinks the APHIS system requiring states to get involved first is flawed and backward, but that states can progress forward on ag issues with grassroots support. In a recent conversation, a USDA grant reviewer told Stanley that he was “very surprised” about the lack of feedback from onion growers compared to other commodities. The agency had received piles of letters from groups and organizations, but had not seen anything from individual growers. Stanley said he hears the same thing in Washington D.C. “Your guys need to call us,” is a common remark. Industry groups will always be lobbying, but real interest in issues is gauged by how many actual growers have reached out to their senators and representatives.

To hear Doug Stanley discuss the Allium leafminer and APHIS in greater detail, visit www.TheOnionPodcast.com

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VOC Update

Results From 2018, Outlook for 2019 Story and photos courtesy Vidalia Onion Committee

After an unusual start to the Vidalia onion growing season, farmers bounced back and sold more than 5 million 40-pound units during the 2018 season,

according to the Vidalia Onion Committee (VOC). “We’re pleased to have had another season of success and highquality onions to make available to consumers, who have enjoyed the taste of Vidalia onions for more than 80 years,” said Bob Stafford, the VOC’s manager. Despite experiencing snow and freezing weather at the start of the season, most growers recovered with only a slight stand loss and experienced one of the best harvests in recent years. Moving into the 2019 growing season, Stafford expects growers to see an increased demand for Vidalia onions’ unique flavor profile among consumers and more stable wholesale pricing as a result of ongoing research into improved growing methods and varieties. “We’re always exploring new research projects to improve our growers’ operations,” Stafford said. “One of our current research initiatives is looking to use mechanical ‘plant tape’ to supplement hand planting.” Vidalia onions have been planted, harvested and cured by hand for more than 80 years. This new research could revolutionize the growing process, making it easier for farmers and their employees. After promising results in several test acres this season, the VOC will continue to look into this process as another potential innovation to roll out to farmers in the future. The committee also continuously works with new varieties at the Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center, seeking to provide consumers with an even better tasting onion with increased shelf life. Last year, the VOC celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Vidalia trademark by debuting a new brand mark and marketing campaign, “Only Vidalia,” to reflect the artisanal approach to growing Vidalia onions that farmers have perfected over time and to remind people that Vidalia onions have the sweet, mild flavor profile that has made it an essential ingredient for a wide range of dishes. Vidalia onions are grown on 12,000 acres annually and represent about 40 percent of the sweet onion market. The crop is produced by approximately 60 registered growers in 20 South Georgia counties and is available in the spring and summer. Sold in every state, the annual value of the crop is about $150 million.

The 2018 Vidalia onion crop was one of the best in recent years despite snow and freezing temperatures at the start of the season.

Onion World • December 2018

Vidalia onions are known for their sweet, mild flavor profile.

Expect More Than Great Seed

Caliber

New Full Season

Caldwell

New Main Season

Ask your local dealer about these exceptional new hybrids or go to www.crookham.com OnionWorld.net

AYVARIETIESLONG-DAY VARIETIESVARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIE 301 Natividad Rd. Salinas, CA 93906 Phone: (831) 443-4901 www.takii.com info@takii.com

Hybrid Onion Trailblazer (T-808)

This early Northeastern type has early- to midseason maturity, being slightly earlier than Mountaineer. Bulbs are tight and firm with a globe shape and good size with thin necks. Trailblazer has strong resistance to botrytis, is slow to bolt and is excellent for storage.

Hybrid Onion Highlander

This Northeastern type has high pack-outs, and its extra-early maturity makes it ideal for many northern long-day areas. It is good for transplant as well as direct seeding. Highlander has resistance to botrytis and downy mildew and is well suited for fresh market and short-term storage. It is best if grown under irrigation.

Trailblazer (T-808)

Hybrid Onion Trekker

Trekker is an early- to mid-season maturing (95-100 days) storage-type variety. Very uniform, its extra-firm bulbs are globe shaped with dark skin that has an attractive sheen. Slow to bolt, Trekker will store until May under optimum conditions. It has strong resistance to basal rot and neck rot and is perfect for fresh and storage markets.

Hybrid Onion Mountaineer

This early/mid Northeastern long-day onion has bulbs that are flattened globe in shape with excellent skin quality. Mountaineerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outstanding features are its earliness and storability. With thinner necks, this onion cures down quickly for excellent storage results. Mountaineer will store slightly longer than Frontier.

This hard globe, yellow Spanish-type onion compares to Tamara-type onions with earlier maturity. Bulbs are globe-shaped with a high percentage of single centers and have excellent skin quality and retention. Milestone features include earliness, storability and skin color. With thinner necks, this onion cures down quickly compared to other varieties in this class. Milestone is well suited for both domestic and export markets.

Hybrid Onion Ridgeline

This mid-season onion is a yellow Spanish type with hard bulbs that are slightly elongated-globe in shape with excellent skin quality. Medium maturity, Ridgeline has good roots with the potential to produce jumbosized bulbs.

Trekker

Highlander

Milestone Ridgeline

Milestone (T-441)

Mountaineer

ESLONG-DAYVARIETIESLONG-DAY VARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIES Hamilton

Ice Pearl

Cartier

Safrane

Red Mountain F-1

Sedona Ice Pearl

Safrane

Ice Pearl is a long-day white onion with excellent round, bright white, firm bulbs capable of long-term storage. Ice Pearl works well as a consumer pack white onion. Ice Pearl has excellent bolting tolerance and can be planted throughout the full range of planting slots. Maturity is early main season.

Safrane is a strong performer on mineral and marginal muck soils. This blocky globe has nice dark-brown quality skins, a strong root system and capabilities for long-term storage bulbs. Safrane also gives gorgeous results from transplants.

Sedona

This variety is a long-day, long storage, high quality, large, dark-red onion with excellent skin retention. This very firm onion with an attractive internal color is highly single centered. Red Carpet is a great addition to join Red Bull and Red Wing programs.

Sedona has proven to be a quality long-term storage onion with a high quality pack-out for later marketing demands. It is a large, full-season, high-yielding variety for fresh pack or processing. It has a strong root system and holds up well in hot summers, supported by its good pink root tolerance. Sedona is also available as organic seed.

Cartier

Cartier offers early maturity with very long storage for eastern growers. Bulbs are very uniform with fine necks and are very productive. Cartier makes nice medium bulbs for pre-packs. It has low grade-out and high quality.

Red Carpet

Hamilton

Hamilton is a classy, exceptionally hard, full-season blocky globe with deep-copper skins. It performs nicely on gravity, drip and overhead irrigation systems. This onionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extremely long-term storage ability positions it as a leader to satisfy late-market needs, providing high quality

Red Mountain F-1

This variety produces nice round bulbs with good red color and high yield potential. It has an early maturity and is well adapted to Northeast growing conditions.

1972 Silver Spur Place Oceano, CA 93445 Phone: (805) 473-2199 www.bejoseeds.com info@bejoseeds.com

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Caliber

Caliber (11-162) is a new late-season variety known for its strong and vigorous tops. These erect tops are part of the Celebrate family and assist in providing thrips tolerance. Caliber’s Fusarium and pink root tolerance is just as strong. It shows a consistent rich bronze color in super colossal bulbs with single centers. Caliber’s bulbs do very well with mechanical harvest. Caliber is consistent, and it stores very well long term.

Caldwell

Oracle

Trident (11-189) is an early main-season variety with wide adaptability. It has proven itself in extensive trials in the Northeast, Midwest and western United States. Trident’s consistent colored bulbs are deep bronze in color, have a small neck and show good tolerance to both pink root and Fusarium. Trident’s scale has a nice sheen and is heavy, making it a great variety for mechanical harvest.

Oracle is a high-yielding Spanish hybrid with a high level of consistency. Oracle is a Celebrate onion with strong, upright tops that are glossy and vigorous. These traits, combined with a robust disease package, make this hybrid grower friendly. Oracle is also an excellent choice for mechanical harvesting and long-term storage. It has high tolerance to pink root, Fusarium and bolting.

Caldwell (08-105) is a new main-season onion in the market. It is one of the most rigorously trialed hybrids in the last decade. It has a consistent copper-toned scale that shows high pink root tolerance and Fusarium tolerance. It boasts high yields with single centers and colossal bulbs. Caldwell also has good scale retention with mechanical harvest.

Trident

Scout

Scout is a great transition variety as you go from intermediate to long days. It has a nice copper-brown scale and holds up well to mechanical harvest. It is also consistent and a good yielder, making it a grower favorite. It shows good tolerance to pink root and Fusarium.

Purple Haze

Purple Haze is a dark, rich red color on the outside, and inside it has distinct ring development. Purple Haze has a good combination of maturity and bulb size. A good disease package complements this vibrant and vigorous hybrid. The variety has high tolerance to pink root and bolting and good tolerance to Fusarium.

Scout Caliber

Caldwell Oracle

Trident

Purple Haze

ESLONG-DAYVARIETIESLONG-DAY VARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIES 8269 E. US Hwy. 95 Yuma, AZ 85365 Phone: (928) 341-8494 www.dpseeds.com info@dpseeds.com

Cherry Mountain F1 Hybrid

Cherry Mountain F1 is a large, brilliant colored, dark-red Grano onion with excellent storage capabilities. This variety produces round bulbs that are uniform in shape with a refined neck. The variety is highly single centered and ideal for the fresh market. Plant in early spring

Saffron F1 Hybrid Diamond Swan F1 Hybrid

Diamond Swan F1 is an early, intermediate/ long-day variety with excellent storage capabilities. This variety features a round, very white bulb with a refined neck and is highly single centered.

Diamond Swan F1 Hybrid

Saffron F1 is a large, yellow intermediate/ long-day Grano onion with excellent storage capabilities. This is an early variety with a refined neck and beautiful dark yellow-bronze skin. This highly single centered variety will do well in North Carolina and in the northern U.S.

Saffron F1 Hybrid

Cherry Mountain F1 Hybrid

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Most plant roots are in the top 12 inches of soil. And it’s a war zone down there. Meet MeloCon, a broad spectrum bionematicide. Its active ingredient are the spores of a naturally occurring fungus that parasitizes the eggs, juveniles and adult nematodes that threaten your tender, developing plant roots. The spores of the MeloCon fungus adhere to the bodies of nematodes, germinating and penetrating the pest to kill it by feeding on it.

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MeloCon takes no prisoners. Yet it is of low risk to beneficials and the environment. Apply it through any irrigation system. Inseason applications are okay, plus there is no fumigant management plan required.

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AYVARIETIESLONG-DAY VARIETIESVARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIE Snow Takes Toll NOA/NARC 6601 Lyons Road With many onion packing houses Suite H-10 temporarily out of commission due to Coconut Creek, FL 33073 either a loss of onions or a loss of the Phone: (954) 429- 9445 means to pack, the supply chain was www.hazera.com disrupted and onion prices increased in info@hazera.us.com Cruiser response. Prices nearly doubled following This 115-day Spanish storage hybrid has good the disaster, but came back to near normal Hades tolerance to pink root, allowing it to yield by the end of January as a result of Hades is a long-day northern-type hybrid with very well in adverse conditions. Cruiser will increased imports from Mexico, accordinga vigorous top. This top, in combination with a produce firm, globe-shaped, jumbo-sized bulbs to Dwayne Fisher, vice president of strong root system, enables the variety to give with a trim neck, resulting in a high packmarketing at Champion Produce. good production in adverse circumstances. out after storage. This hybrid has proven to Packing lines were down for a week and Hades has a main-season maturity and produces perform very well under overhead irrigation a half at Champion Produce following the firm, blocky-shaped bulbs. and has shown a strong bolting tolerance. collapse of three of the company’s storage Hades facilities – two in Parma, Idaho, and one Cruiser in Wilder, Idaho. An estimated 8 million pounds of onions were lost. Amid the devastation, Treasure Valley onion companies impacted by this winter’s weather are making plans to rebuild and be even stronger in the future, they said. “At the end of the day, buildings and equipment are replaceable,” Myers said. “Our concerns lie with our people: our This storage in Parma, Idaho, was the first of employees and our customers. The safety three Champion Produce onion storage facilities of our crew and the relationships with our to collapse under the weight of heavy snow in customers are far more valuable than any January. Photo courtesy Champion Produce shed.”

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Rhino is a very attractive new hybrid with a high level of single centers and bright white flesh. Rhino is a main-season Spanish storage hybrid with excellent skin quality. This variety has been performing well in drip and furrow irrigated fields in many long-day areas. A 120-day maturity and strong storage qualities make Rhino a flexible variety. Rhino has a good level of resistance to both pink root and Fusarium. A glossy, green, vigorous top and strong root system will contribute to excellent production.

Approximately 3.6 million pounds of onions were in this Champion Produce storage facility when the roof caved in. Photo courtesy Champion Produce Rhino (37-86)

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1412 Onion World • December 2018 Onion World • March/April 2017

Rhino (37-86)

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Airoso

As a new introduction in 2017, Airoso received outstanding reviews and is gaining popularity quickly. Airoso has a highly versatile plant date. With high bolting tolerance, it can be sown extremely early and harvested following many intermediates. At normal plant dates, it produces extremely firm bulbs with great storage potential. Airoso’s early 112-day maturity; sowing versatility; vigorous, upright, sprinkler-tolerant foliage; and long-term storage potential make this yellow long-day onion one to try.

Oloroso

Oloroso is a main-season, 116-day long-day yellow onion with excellent firmness and storage potential. It’s consistently the highest single-centered and most uniform variety in onions. Even though it has many of the characteristics of long-term storage varieties, high productivity – specifically yields – are often a surprise. It is primarily used in the Northwest, however can easily be grown under both sprinkler and drip irrigation.

Coming in the next issue of

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Airoso

Oloroso

Joaquin

Its robust roots and vigorous foliage make Joaquin one of the most highly productive long-day onion varieties. These attributes give Joaquin the ability to withstand some of the harshest conditions from pink root and Fusarium to Iris yellow spot virus. It’s a full season variety of 130-day maturity. Joaquin is highly consistent in producing jumbo size and larger bulbs with excellent uniformity and medium- to long-term storage potential.

Rhea

Rhea shares many similarities to the widely used and popular Cometa. One of its differences is a slightly early maturity of 122 days. Its brilliant white color and high productivity have set the standard for longday white onions in U.S. markets. In addition to being highly resistant to pink root and Fusarium, Rhea also has shown improved tolerance to Iris yellow spot virus, higher bolting tolerance and improved quality through storage.

Joaquin

Rhea

Anillo

Anillo is a very attractive yellow long-day onion with beautiful shiny, copper-brown skin and amazing white interior flesh. Its attractive skin, bulb firmness, extremely high uniformity, single centeredness and longterm storage make it an ideal fresh market variety. The 120-day variety is suitable for the Northwest under either sprinkler or drip irrigation.

Anillo

AYVARIETIESLONG-DAY VARIETIESVARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIE 18095 Serene Drive Morgan Hill, CA 95037 Phone: (408) 778-7758 www.sakatavegetables.com vegetables@sakata.com

Lasso

Lasso is a mid-season yellow long-day Spanish onion. It has good adaptability with consistency and has tested well coming out of storage. This variety cuts a high percentage of single centers. Lasso has strong plant growth and is adaptable to all growing regions where long-day and Spanish onions are grown. Its sizes range from colossal to jumbo.

Dulce Reina

Dulce Reina is a mid- to late-season yellow long-day Spanish onion. This onion has consistency and sweetness. It has been used as a sweet onion in this class. This variety has good skin retention with a copper skin color and strong plant growth. The sizes range from colossal to jumbo.

Aruba

Aruba is a long-day Spanish onion suited to many growing areas of the U.S. It is midearly to mid-maturity. This variety’s sizes range from colossal to jumbo with consistent yields. Aruba stores well with minimum culling. Aruba is grower friendly and adaptable, globe-shaped and cuts nearly 100 percent single centers in all locations, but can vary by area conditions.

Lasso

Yukon

Yukon is one of Sakata’s newest introductions and promises great storage potential. It offers excellent firmness, single centers and sizes from colossal to jumbo. Maturity will range later in California to midlate in the Pacific Northwest.

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Onion World • December 2018

ESLONG-DAYVARIETIESLONG-DAY VARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIESLONG-DAYVARIETIES P.O. Box 548 Buffalo, NY 14240 Phone: (800) 263-7233 sales@stokeseeds.com www.stokeseeds.com

Catskill

With a maturity of 110 days, Catskill produces attractive, large, round bulbs with dark skin and small necks. It offers high yield potential with long-term storage potential.

Saddleback

Catskill

Saddleback

With a 100-day maturity, Saddleback produces large, uniform, globe-shaped bulbs with medium skin color and small necks. It is widely adapted with medium-term storage potential.

Pocono

Pocono has a matuirty of 110 days. The vareity produces extra-large, uniform, round bulbs with dark skin color and very small necks that have long-term storage potential of seven to eight months.

Montclair

Montclair has a maturity of 112 days. Large bulbs with heavy, dark-bronze skin mature as excellent high quality medium jumbos after six to seven months of long-term storage.

Red Nugent

With a maturity of 113 days, Red Nugent is a vareity with large, dark-red bulbs with small necks and strong root systems for growing on marginal mucks with a five- to six-month storage potential.

Montclair

Red Nugent

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800-627-9099 or 509-582-8900 OnionWorld.net

PMA Fresh Summit attendees peruse the booths of more than 1,600 exhibitors displaying their wares on the trade show floor. Photo courtesy Produce Marketing Association

PMA Offers Taste of Onion Industry Trends

he message coming from the Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) 69th annual Fresh Summit was clear: consumers continue to demand more convenience, measured portions, bigger flavor, organic products and greater traceability. The growing shortage of over-the-road truckers and the ability to improve food safety and reduce labor costs through automation also dominated conversations at the Oct. 18-20 convention and expo in Orlando, Florida. A consensus among onion growers, packers, wholesalers and retailers at the event that drew an international audience is that smaller onions are becoming a big hit, especially as millennials, couples without children and smaller families wield more purchasing muscle. Consumers also want to know that sustainability in farming, packaging and other aspects of the supply chain are a priority for the companies seeking their food dollars.

Onion World • December 2018

By Eric Woolson

At the Melissa’s Produce display, one focus was on its “perfectly sized” singleserving baby Dutch onions. Millennials are also leading the way toward more adventurous recipes and niche products, such as the Los Angeles company’s Maui Kula onions grown in Hawaii. A mix of red, yellow and gold boilers, an assortment of pearl onions and organic reds and yellows also were showcased.

Uplift in Organics

“Organic is growing across the board. More and more people are searching for it and eating it,” said Dale Roberts, regional merchandising manager at Melissa’s Produce. Matt Stocks, head of Melissa’s organic program, said the organic market is recording double-digit annual growth thanks to a cross section of demographics. “Millennials may not have higher income, but they will save money elsewhere to purchase organics. Baby

boomers want longevity and they’re eating healthier. There’s the ‘save the planet, save the world’ group that chooses organic products,” Stocks explained. “And, there’s a melting pot. It doesn’t matter what our nationality or origin is, we all love variety. We’re learning to cook different dishes with different ingredients; the Food Network is helping with that trend. We’ve definitely seen a huge uplift in organics thanks to all these trends.” Troy Bland, chief operating officer of Glennville, Georgia-based Bland Farms, said the industry giant with farms in Peru, Mexico, Texas and Georgia is eager to see the U.S. market reset after several years of low prices. “The market has been really tough the last three years. It’s had a buyer’s market and mentality, and the key is going to be making sure that we don’t overproduce,” he said, noting that his family’s business plans to reduce its production acres in 2019.

The Bland Farms team welcomes PMA Fresh Summit trade show visitors to their booth. Photo courtesy Bland Farms

Cathy Burns, CEO of the Produce Marketing Association, delivers a state of the industry address during the PMA Fresh Summit. Photo courtesy Produce Marketing Association

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PMA Danny Ray of Ray Farms, also of Glennville, echoed Bland’s sentiments. The former Vidalia Onion Grower of the Year, who noted his family made a move to mechanical planting three years ago to reduce growing labor costs, said its response to low prices is to “cut back acres to what we can do mechanically.” Speaking of the overall 2019 market, he added, “As long as we don’t overproduce, we’ll be okay. That’s what dictates the market. We’re in oversupply right now.” While Shay Myers, general manager of Owyhee Produce, said the three-generation family business took a big step to automate its operations after a 2016 snowstorm destroyed five of its buildings in Nyssa, Oregon, “smart factory” vendors were

present to encourage growers and packers to make the move voluntarily. Automation expert Harm Geurs with Eqraft, a Netherlands packagingfacility designer and manufacturer, said worker shortages, higher labor costs and consumers’ desire to have fewer human hands touching their food are driving demand for fully automated processing facilities.

Drivers Wanted

During a workshop pursuing solutions to the growing shortage of over-the-road truckers, a representative of the American Trucking Association said the current 50,000-driver shortfall will balloon to a 200,000 shortfall in approximately 10 years.

Colorful displays of fruits and veggies offered by Melissa’s Produce catch the eye of PMA Fresh Summit attendees. Photo courtesy Melissa’s Produce

Onion World • December 2018

Ideas included improving driver pay and benefits, company-to-company driver rotation programs, improved technology, greater coordination of shipments, changes in the federal work visa program, reducing the age requirement for interstate truckers, requiring companies to receive loads more quickly or not count time at terminals against drivers’ daily time limits, greater use of autonomous vehicles, more intense recruitment efforts, a national “driver ROTC” program and even appealing to “millennials’ sense of adventure” and affinity for “tiny house living.”

State of the Industry

In her remarks about the state of the industry, PMA CEO Cathy Burns emphasized the need for the entire industry – “from growers, packers, transportation, wholesalers and retailers to health officials and regulators”– to commit to food safety. Emphasizing that food safety “must be the cornerstone” of every organization, she added, “Food safety is not just an action, it is an attitude.” She urged everyone in the produce industry to adopt emerging food safety technology and best practices to move “from a reactive enterprise to a proactive approach.” “I’m on a personal mission to ensure our industry voice is heard,” she said. She vowed to ensure the industry is “not only part of the conversations but that we are leading them.” Burns cautioned that even as consumers seek more plant-based food, they are “looking in other sections” of the grocery store. The trend is ironic because consumers consistently indicate they recognize the preeminent nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables. “We cannot let protein define produce,” Burns said. “Our goal remains to help the world understand the single most important thing they can do to live a healthy life is to eat more fruits and vegetables. We cannot let them be replaced in customers’ diets and eating habits.”

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Chlorpyrifos

Staple Pesticide Threatened in Ban Story by René Hardwick, National Onion Association Photos courtesy Brian Nault, Cornell University

uch has been made about the common pesticide chlorpyrifos getting a second chance after it was banned earlier this year. The pesticide is commonly used throughout the U.S. onion industry to control onion maggots and seedcorn maggots. And for growers making decisions today about next spring’s pesticide needs, the on-and-off status of a ban on the pesticide is not the most welcome of threats. In September, the U.S. Department of Justice requested a new hearing for the case in light of the pesticide being credited with protecting a large amount of America’s vegetable and fruit crops. The ban came after a decade-long fight by environmental and public health groups to get the pesticide taken off the market because of concerns of health issues the pesticide had been associated with in children. At press time, there was no scheduled re-hearing to report.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said the ban appeared to be the result of “misunderstanding” and that the ultimate cost of a ban would be to the American farmer. The pesticide is used in more than 50 crops throughout the U.S. “For some crops and target pests, chlorpyrifos is the only line of defense, with no viable alternatives,” Purdue stated.

Use in Onions

In terms of the U.S. onion industry, a ban of the pesticide will hit some worse than others. While a majority of onion growers must deal with thrips regularly, maggots are more of a problem in the northern tier of the country than the south. Chlorpyrifos, commonly sold under the name Lorsban, has been an onion industry standard in controlling maggots since the mid-1980s when it was introduced. But in the northern muck soils, the pesticide has become more of a sidekick

to the onion superhero of insecticide seed treatments these days. In Washington down to northern California, the pesticide is commonly used to control seedcorn maggots. If there is an outright ban of the pesticide, there is an alternative in diazinon, developed in the mid-1950s, but application of that is much different than chlorpyrifos, said Tim Waters, regional vegetable specialist with Washington State University. “Diazinon has to go on in advance of planting, and then you have to incorporate it into the soil,” he said. Chlropyrifos can be put down the day of planting in-furrow with equipment on the planter and does not require a separate tillage operation to incorporate. There are seed treatments onion growers can get, but they have to pre-order them well in advance of planting as they order their seed. This presents some logistical issues as they must decide before the

Onion and seedcorn maggots damage onions from the inside out, preventing full bulbs from growing.

Onion World • December 2018

season which cultivar will go in each field and if they anticipate a maggot issue. With chlorpyrifos, they can decide the day of planting if they need to utilize the insecticide.

Resistance Concerns

Having alternatives to chlorpyrifos helps in more ways than one. Just as bacteria are growing resistant to antibiotics in humans, some bugs can develop resistance to pesticides, so having more in your onion arsenal than not may be the best way to move forward. Brian Nault, a professor in the department of entomology at Cornell University, said chlorpyrifos started out in the East as the industry standard, but the pesky maggots it kept from boring into New York onions grew resistant. Farmers then used Lorsban in conjunction with a product called Trigard, an insecticide seed treatment for onions developed in 1996. The cocktail became the next industry standard for these growers until about six or seven years ago. “Growers felt they didn’t get as good of control with Trigard alone as they did when they included Lorsban as a drench with the Trigard-treated seed,” Nault said. In about 2011, Nault said, Syngenta came up with a breakthrough in a seed treatment package called FarMore FI500, which included a total of two insecticides and three fungicides. “It worked beautifully well for controlling the onion maggot and the seedcorn maggot,” Nault said. Maggots become a huge issue in northern muck soils because growers do not rotate their onion fields; they’re pretty much locked into the same fields every year as they’re really farming in drained swamps and lakes. “For the onion maggot, that’s a dream come true,” Nault said. “They have three generations a year, and they’re not really good flyers. They just stay in the same field, complete their three generations, and next year, they don’t have to go very far.” “That’s a worst-case scenario for growers in terms of managing onion maggots. The best thing you can do is rotate crops at least a half-mile away, but (many northern growers) are confined,” he explained.

Adult onion maggots can survive two to four weeks, and females may lay hundreds of eggs on the soil near the stem and occasionally on the leaves and neck of the onion plant.

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Staple Pesticide Pesticide Preservation

Onion maggot larvae damage a young onion plant. Onion maggot larvae often enter the onion from the basal plate and feed inside the belowground portion of the onion plant for two to three weeks.

Nault said pesticide use is a doubleedged sword. When it works, it works, and growers tend to rely on it. When pests become resistant, the challenge is on to find more tools to fight them. To combat this problem, he recommends growers resort to alternating pesticides each year to confuse maggots’ systems. Waters added, “That’s one of the reasons to preserve these different insecticides.” Essentially, that means a ban of chlorpyrifos – which is exclusively used in the Pacific Northwest for maggot control in onion fields – would reduce those alternatives for pest control. If it is banned, it will likely mean a bigger hit to onion growers’ bottom lines, as newer insecticides are more expensive because they cost so much to develop. To get a new active ingredient approved, according to the Western Farm Press, from 2010 to 2014, the average cost was $286 million and could take more than 11 years. In that article, Jesse Richardson of Dow AgroSciences said only one in 160,000 active ingredients would pass the requirements to become registered. Waters said his phone has been lighting up in the last month because growers are wondering which way to go as they are being asked to buy their pesticides for the next growing season. Their biggest fear is buying something that will become illegal by the time they get it.

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