Onion World November 2023 by Columbia Media Group

ONION WORLD Voice of the Industry • OnionWorld.net

November 2023

2024

Buyers' Guide Advertiser Index Agri-Stor ................... 27 Bejo .......................... 25 Chinook Equipment .. 17 Clearwater Supply .... 29 Crookham ................... 9 Crookham ................. 17 DP Seeds ................... 23 Eqraft ........................ 41 Fox Packaging ........... 18 Fox Solutions ............ 39 Gearmore ................. 44 Gowan Seed ............. 12 Haines ....................... 21 Kerian ....................... 23 L&M .......................... 13 NOA .......................... 17 Monosem ................. 12 Nunhems .................. 19 Redwood Empire ...... 15 Seed Dynamics ........... 5 Seedway ................... 15 Spudnik ..................... 29 Thorpack................... 21 Top Air ........................ 2 Unitec ....................... 43 Verbruggen ............... 19 Volm ......................... 23

Pacific Northwest Bayer Experience Crookham Defender WSU Onion Field Day Nunhems Onion Showcase

LIFTERS / DIGGERS

TOPPER WINDROWERS

TOPPER LOADERS

EFFICIENT UNDERCUTTING AND WINDROWING

TOP AND CURE ONIONS IN WINDROWS

INDUSTRY LEADING CAPACITY FOR OPERATIONS OF ALL SIZES

• RIGID FRAME + FOLDING MODELS IN A WIDE RANGE OF CONFIGURATIONS

• HIGH CAPACITY • GENTLE HANDLING • STANDARD + XL MODELS

• LOAD UP TO 3.5 TONS /MIN • SUPERIOR TOPPING + DIRT ELIMINATION

INFO@TOPAIRINC.COM

WWW.TOPAIR.AG

+1.208.722.6936

t pair I NCOR POR ATE D

TO OUR LOYAL CUSTOMERS, THANK YOU FOR TRUSTING US WITH YOUR ONION HARVEST.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ONION WORLD Volume 39, Number 7

NOVEMBER 2023

PO Box 333 Roberts, Idaho 83444 Telephone: (208) 520-6461 Circulation: (503) 724-3581

OnionWorld.net

6 2024 Buyers' Guide 28 New Varieties, Crop Protection and Technology Pacific Northwest Bayer Experience

32 Considering the Weather WSU Onion Field Day

36 Tearless Sunions Now Widely Available to Growers

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

EDITORIAL INFORMATION

Nunhems Onion Showcase

38 Defender Displays Strengths 41 Utah Onion Summer Field Tour

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

Subscribe online at: www.OnionWorld.net/subscribe or call (503) 724-3581.

Onion bulbs show symptoms of late-season heat stress. Learn how sudden shifts in temperature early and late in the season affected some onion crops on page 32.

ON THE COVER Producing perfect onions is easier when equipped with the right supplies and services. Find a list of vendors to guide your plans for next season in the 2024 Buyers’ Guide, starting on page 6. 4

Onion World • November 2023

DEPARTMENTS 31... Calendar 39... In the News 40... New Products 42... From the NOA 42... Advertiser Index

Email address changes/corrections to brian@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com or mail to: Onion World PO Box 333 Roberts, ID 83444 Onion World magazine (ISSN 0892-578X), 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 2023. 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.

Gowan Seed Company Chualar, California 831.596.1900

Seedway Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania 717.367.1075

Clifton Seeds Moravia, New York 315.604.1098

Seedling Onions Need a Hero When onion seed and seedcorn maggots threaten young crops, our s heroes come prepared. FarMore FI500 and Spinosad/Lumiverd seed treatments provide early season disease and insect protection for young onion crops. Seed Dynamics applies the protectant to the seeds themselves, through a safe and controlled delivery. It works at the most critical time — during germination and seedling emergence — so your seeds can thrive, while fending off threats of early damage. Get a hero from Seed Dynamics , the Seed Preparation Professionals. Call us at 866.321.9747 or choose a dealer listed above.

Visit our New Website at SeedDynamics.com!

2024 Buyers’ Guide T

here are a lot of moving parts involved in growing and marketing an onion crop - from needing the right products to protect your crop from pests and pathogens to having the right equipment to efficiently navigate the season. For most growers, packers and shippers, this translates into a constant to-do list, shopping list and wish list. Whether your list has you searching for a new harvester or just some innovative irrigation equipment, you’ll find a comprehensive list of suppliers in Onion World’s 2024 Buyers’ Guide.

CROP INPUTS ..................... 7 Fertilizers/Growth Promoters Fungicides Herbicides Insecticides/Pesticides/Fumigants

EQUIPMENT ........................ 8 Bagging/Packaging/Packing/ Palleltizing Covers Extraction Handling Harvesters/Harvesting Lifters Loaders Planters Processing Scales/Weighing Sizing/Sorting Toppers/Tailers Windrowers

MISCELLANEOUS ............... 18 Auctioneers Irrigation Pollination Cages

PARTS.............................19 Belting/Chain Pinch Rolls

SEED...............................20 Onion Seed Seed Cages Seed Treatments Organic Seed Treatments Seed Coating/Pelleting Seed Films/Seed Priming

SHIPPERS .......................... 24 STORAGE .......................... 26 Bins Chemicals for Storage Refrigeration/Monitoring/Control Panels

Onion World • November 2023

CROP INPUTS FERTILIZERS & GROWTH PROMOTERS Rovensa Next

2788 S. Maple Ave. Fresno, CA 93725 www.rovensanext-na.com

NANOCAL sub-micronized calcium

Crop Vitality

(800) 525-2803 www.cropvitality.com

CaTs calcium thiosulfate liquid fertilizer

FUNGICIDES

INSECTICIDES PESTICIDES FUMIGANTS Corteva Agriscience Indianapolis, IN www.corteva.us

Radiant insecticide Vydate L insecticide/nematicide Entrust insecticide

Corteva Agriscience Indianapolis, IN www.corteva.us

Fontelis fungicide Tanos fungicide Bexfond biological fungicide

Diamond K Gypsum

1720 S Red Hills Dr Richfield, UT 84701 (435) 896-8870 Kris Allred, CEO Kris@diamondkgypsum.com www.diamondkgypsum.com

Diamond K Gypsum is the industry leader in solution grade gypsum, sulfate of potash and other key nutrients for onion growers in North America.

Innovak Global

1716 Montana Ave. El Paso, TX 79902 (805) 443-1330 or Walt Grigg (509) 952-7558 www.innovakglobal.com info@innovakglobal.com

Nutri-Cal: The calcium solution

Terramera

(360) 988-3850 www.rangonow.com

Nichino America, Inc.

4550 Linden Hill Road, Suite 501 Wilmington, DE 19808 (888) 740-7700 www.nichino.net Torac insecticide

Rango fungicide, insecticide and miticide

HERBICIDES Corteva Agriscience Indianapolis, IN www.corteva.us

Starane Ultra herbicide

Gowan USA

(800) 883-1844 www.gowanco.com

Vida herbicide, Prefar 4-E selective herbicide, Treflan HFP herbicide, Treflan TR-10 herbicide

Teleos Ag Solutions (833) 679-1942 www.teleosag.com

TELONE™ II Soil Fumigant

Terramera

(360) 988-3850 www.rangonow.com

Rango fungicide, insecticide and miticide

Redox

130 S 100 W Burley, ID 83318 (208) 678-2610 www.redoxgrows.com

Redox Bio-Nutrients focuses on sustainable plant nutrition. Each Redox Bio-Nutrients product has been scientifically developed to address specific plant needs in four key areas: Abiotic Stress Defense, Soil Health, Root Development and Nutrient Efficiency.

OnionWorld.net

2024 Buyers’ Guide EQUIPMENT BAGGING/PACKAGING PACKING/ PALLETIZING Chinook Equipment Inc.

Haines Equipment, Inc. Fox Packaging

2200 Fox Drive McAllen, TX 78504 (956) 682-6176 info@foxbag.com www.foxbag.com

P.O. Box 15554, Boise, ID 83715 (208) 331-1126 chinookequipment@gmail.com www.chinookequipment.com

Fox Packaging manufactures innovative, flexible packaging solutions that extend product shelf-life, showcase the natural beauty of the product, provide a great foundation for design and streamline operations

Eqraft

Lee Shuknecht & Sons 4458 Ford Road Elba, NY 14058 (585) 757-6628 mail@shuknecht.com www.shuknecht.com Baggers

Proud member Onion Tech Alliance Rutger Keurhorst info@eqraft.com www.eqraft.com We build fully automated onion facilities with solutions ranging from grading and weighing to packing and palletizing.

Rietveld Equipment

4067 E. 4000 N. Road Bourbonnais, IL 60914 (815) 936-9800 john@rietveldequipment.com www.rietveldequipment.com

Fox Solutions

Baxmatic 100% Fully-automated Bagger, Sewing Lane, Bag Laser Printing, Jumbo Bag Fillers, Bin Fillers, intermachine communication

Ernst Manufacturing Bakersfield, CA (661) 831-7553 info@ernstusa.com www.ernstusa.com

P.O. Box I, 20 Carrington Street Avoca, NY 14809 (607) 566-2234 www.hainesequipment.com Hainesinc@aol.com

Post-harvest processing facilities and equipment since 1944. Design and Engineering Services * Equipment Manufacturing * Parts and Supplies * Equipment Service

2200 Fox Drive McAllen, TX 78504 (956) 682-6176 info@foxbag.com www.solutionsbyfox.com

Fox Solutions sets the standard for equipment quality and safety with full stainless steel construction and comprehensive pack line solutions, partnering with best-in-class equipment brands including Newtec, Haith and C-Pack

Installation and full service. Full washing and grading lines. Distributor for Allround, Taneco, Upmann, IPLA Palletizing

Coming in the next issue of

LONG-DAY VARIETY Buyers’ Guide

Never miss an issue Subscribe at OnionWorld.net/Subscribe 8

Onion World • November 2023

EQUIPMENT BAGGING/PACKAGING PACKING/ PALLETIZING (CONT.)

SYMACH Palletizers

315 27th Ave NE Minneapolis MN 55418 (612) 760-8864 marco.maljaars@bwpackagingsystems.com www.symach.nl/en/ Specialists in onion palletizing, pallet wrapping, and conveying systems

ThorPack

W6788 5th Avenue Road Bryant, WI 54418 (715) 627-7333 www.thorpack.com

Top Air, Inc.

Volm Companies

101 N. Roswell Blvd. Parma, ID 83660 (208) 722-6936 info@topairinc.com www.topair.ag Vertical elevators

Verbruggen Palletizing Solutions Inc.

North America Sales & Service Center Visitors: 5804 Road 90 Suite D Pasco, WA 99301 Mail: 5426 North Road 68 Suite D122 Pasco, WA 99301 (509) 531-7350 info@verbruggenusa.com www.www.verbruggen-palletizing.com

Verbruggen is a worldwide supplier of palletizing, wrapping and product handling solutions for bags, crates and cartons.

Onion World Buyers Guide Short Intermediate FINAL_2023 Ad.pdf

10/4/23

volmcompanies.com Antigo, WI (Corporate Headquarters) 1804 Edison St., Antigo, WI 54409 (800) 253-4737 Idaho Falls, ID 3721 W 65th South Idaho Falls, ID 83402 (208) 524-0600 Pasco, WA 5702 Industrial Way Suite 101 Pasco, WA 99301 (509) 547-3437 Fresno, CA 3440 S East Ave. Suite 104 Fresno, CA 93725 (800) 253-4737 Monte Vista, CO 1100 S Country Rd. 3 E Monte Vista, CO 81144 (800) 253-4737 Brantford, Canada 173 Garden Ave. Brantford, Ontario N3S 0A7 (800) 253-4737

3:22 PM

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2024 Buyers’ Guide EQUIPMENT BAGGING/PACKAGING PACKING/ PALLETIZING (CONT.)

Yakima Label

925 N. 5th Ave. Yakima, WA 98902 (509) 955-8400 josh@yakimalabel.com www.yakimalabel.com Custom packaging labels

COVERS Redwood Empire Awning Co.

3547 Santa Rosa Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95407 (707) 588-9900 mike@redwoodempireawning.com www.redwoodempireawning.com Equipment covers

EXTRACTION JDC Extraction

527 W. McGregor Dr., Suite 527 Boise, Idaho 83705 (208) 577-5375 www.jdcextraction.com

HANDLING Eqraft

Proud member Onion Tech Alliance Rutger Keurhorst info@eqraft.com www.eqraft.com We build fully automated onion facilities with solutions ranging from grading and weighing to packing and palletizing.

Jumbo Bag Fillers, Roller Tracks, Bin Tippers, Hoppers, Conveyors, Storage Bunkers, intermachine communication

Ernst Manufacturing Bakersfield, CA (661) 831-7553 info@ernstusa.com www.ernstusa.com

Post-harvest processing facilities and equipment since 1944. Design and Engineering Services * Equipment Manufacturing * Parts and Supplies * Equipment Service 10

Onion World • November 2023

Fox Solutions

2200 Fox Drive McAllen, TX 78504 (956) 682-6176 info@foxbag.com www.solutionsbyfox.com

Haines Equipment, Inc.

P.O. Box I, 20 Carrington Street Avoca, NY 14809 (607) 566-2234 www.hainesequipment.com Hainesinc@aol.com

JDC Extraction

527 W. McGregor Dr., Suite 527 Boise, Idaho 83705 (208) 577-5375 www.jdcextraction.com

Kerian Machines

P.O. Box 311, Grafton, ND 58237 (701) 352-0480 sales@kerian.com www.kerian.com Kerian Speed Sizer

Lee Shuknecht & Sons 4458 Ford Road Elba, NY 14058 (585) 757-6628 mail@shuknecht.com www.shuknecht.com

Rietveld Equipment

4067 E. 4000 N. Road Bourbonnais, IL 60914 (815) 936-9800 john@rietveldequipment.com www.rietveldequipment.com

Installation and full service. Full washing and grading lines. Distributor for Allround, Taneco, Upmann, IPLA Palletizing

Volm Companies

HARVESTERS/ (800) 253-4737 HARVESTING

Eqraft

Proud member Onion Tech Alliance Rutger Keurhorst info@eqraft.com www.eqraft.com We build fully automated onion facilities with solutions ranging from grading and weighing to packing and palletizing.

Custom-designed unloading stations and grading solutions, Storage Bunkers, Warehousing, Sample Takers, Tangled Product Separators

L&M Specialty Fabrication, LLC 4868 East Saile Drive Batavia NY 14020 (585) 283-4847 turbotop@lmspecfab.com www.turbotopharvester.com

Turbo Top self-propelled and pulled-type harvesters

EQUIPMENT HARVESTERS/ HARVESTING (CONT.)

Lee Shuknecht & Sons 4458 Ford Road Elba, NY 14058 (585) 757-6628 mail@shuknecht.com www.shuknecht.com Harvesters, toppers

Nicholson Equipment

505 S. Division Ave Fremont, MI 49412 (231) 924-6454 sales@nicholson-equipment.com www.nicholson-equipment.com

Field toppers, windrowers, harvesters, top-tailers

Rietveld Equipment

4067 E. 4000 N. Road Bourbonnais, IL 60914 (815) 936-9800 john@rietveldequipment.com www.rietveldequipment.com

Univerco (1978) Inc

Mel Beck Precision Planters LLC

One-row and two-row onion harvesters One- to three-row onion windrowers Topper tables for packing lines

Multi-line planters since 1956

713 RTE 219 Napierville, QC Canada J0J 1L0 (450) 245-7152 www.univerco.com

LIFTERS Top Air, Inc.

101 N. Roswell Blvd. Parma, ID 83660 (208) 722-6936 info@topairinc.com www.topair.ag

LOADERS Eqraft

Proud member Onion Tech Alliance Rutger Keurhorst info@eqraft.com www.eqraft.com We build fully automated onion facilities with solutions ranging from grading and weighing to packing and palletizing.

Custom-designed loading stations, Evenflows, Conveyors, Bin Fillers and Roller Tracks, intermachine communication

Haines Equipment, Inc.

P.O. Box I, 20 Carrington Street Avoca, NY 14809 (607) 566-2234 www.hainesequipment.com Hainesinc@aol.com

Spudnik

Top Air, Inc.

ASA-LIFT North American Sales Distributor

Top Air, Inc.

101 N. Roswell Blvd. Parma, ID 83660 (208) 722-6936 info@topairinc.com www.topair.ag

Milton Planters

101 N. Roswell Blvd. Parma, ID 83660 (208) 722-6936 info@topairinc.com www.topair.ag

Monosem Inc.

1001 Blake Street Edwardsville, KS 66111 (913) 438-1700 www.monosem-inc.com

Custom Planters Built-to-Order

Installation and full service. Full washing and grading lines. Distributor for Allround, Taneco, Upmann, IPLA Palletizing

584 W 100 N Blackfoot, ID 83221 David Offerdahl (831) 240-9600 dofferdaul@spudnik.com www.spudnik.com

214 Thunderegg Blvd. Nyssa, OR 97913 (541) 372-3532 rbeck@fmtc.com www.precisionplanters.com

Solex

Solex Corporation 220 South Jefferson St. Dixon, CA 95620 (707) 678-5533 sales@solexcorp.com

Stanhay planters, Gaspardo planters, Checchi-Magli transplanters & Seed Spider

Top Air, Inc.

101 N. Roswell Blvd. Parma, ID 83660 (208) 722-6936 info@topairinc.com www.topair.ag

PLANTERS

Gearmore, Inc.

13477 Benson Ave. Chino, CA 91710 (800) 833-3023 sales@gearmore.com www.gearmore.com OnionWorld.net

2024 Buyers’ Guide EQUIPMENT PROCESSING Chinook Equipment Inc.

Pacific North West

Brian Haddon, Area Manager (971) 282-2884

San Joaquin Valley

New Mexico

Greg Patti, Sales Rep. (575) 202-2250

Texas

Russ Brown, Area Manager (559) 799-0799

Clegg Smith, Area Manager (956) 340-0022

Imperial Valley & Yuma AZ

Florida, Georgia & the Carolinas

Scott Richards, Area Manager (928) 580-2484

Derek Levy, Sales Rep (912) 433-4752

831-679-1900

www.gowanseed.com P.O. Box 190 • Chualar, CA 93925 25445 Chualar River Road • Chualar, CA 93925

P.O. Box 15554 Boise, ID 83715 (208) 331-1126 chinookequipment@gmail.com www.chinookequipment.com

Eqraft

Proud member Onion Tech Alliance Rutger Keurhorst info@eqraft.com www.eqraft.com We build fully automated onion facilities with solutions ranging from grading and weighing to packing and palletizing. 100% fully-automated onion peeler, fully automatic onion grader, complete automatic turnkey onion lines with inventory statistics

Ernst Manufacturing Bakersfield, CA (661) 831-7553 info@ernstusa.com www.ernstusa.com

Post-harvest processing facilities and equipment since 1944. Design and Engineering Services * Equipment Manufacturing * Parts and Supplies * Equipment Service

Haines Equipment, Inc.

P.O. Box I, 20 Carrington Street Avoca, NY 14809 (607) 566-2234 www.hainesequipment.com Hainesinc@aol.com

JDC Extraction

527 W. McGregor Dr., Suite 527 Boise, Idaho 83705 (208) 577-5375 www.jdcextraction.com

Kerian Machines

P.O. Box 311, Grafton, ND 58237 (701) 352-0480 sales@kerian.com www.kerian.com

Onion World • November 2023

OnionWorld.net

2024 Buyers’ Guide EQUIPMENT PROCESSING (CONT.) Volm Companies Lee Shuknecht & Sons

4458 Ford Road, Elba, NY 14058 (585) 757-6628 mail@shuknecht.com www.shuknecht.com Grading, packing, sizing, sorting

M & P Engineering Ltd 505 S. Division Ave Fremont, MI 49412 (231) 924-6437 sales@mpspares.com www.mpspares.com

Onion peeling machines for fresh cut and process applications. Single machines or complete lines are available.

Modern Produce Equipment

5118 W. 72nd Street Fremont, MI 49412 (800) 663-8640 tom@modernproduceequipment.com www.modernproduceequipment.com

We design and install a variety of vegetable handling and potato processing equipment. From single machines to full vegetable handling & grading systems.

Rietveld Equipment

4067 E. 4000 N. Road Bourbonnais, IL 60914 (815) 936-9800 john@rietveldequipment.com www.rietveldequipment.com

Installation and full service. Full washing and grading lines. Distributor for Allround, Taneco, Upmann, IPLA Palletizing 14

Onion World • November 2023

SCALES / WEIGHING Eqraft

Proud member Onion Tech Alliance Rutger Keurhorst info@eqraft.com www.eqraft.com We build fully automated onion facilities with solutions ranging from grading and weighing to packing and palletizing.

Combination scales, weights from 1 to 50# in 1 drop, 16 weighing heads, high capacity, high speed, easy maintenance, and internet + database connectivity

Fox Solutions

2200 Fox Drive McAllen, TX 78504 (956) 682-6176 info@foxbag.com www.solutionsbyfox.com

Greentronics, Inc. 75 Arthur Street North Elmira, ON N3B 2A1 (519) 669-4698 www.greentronics.com

RiteWeight in-line conveyor system

Volm Companies

EQUIPMENT SIZING / SORTING

Ernst Manufacturing Bakersfield, CA (661) 831-7553 info@ernstusa.com www.ernstusa.com

Post-harvest processing facilities and equipment since 1944. Design and Engineering Services * Equipment Manufacturing * Parts and Supplies * Equipment Service

SEEDWAY_Onion World_Oct2021_Layout 1 10/4/2021 2:52 PM Page 1

Your Acres. Your Livelihood. Our Priority.

Fox Solutions

2200 Fox Drive McAllen, TX 78504 (956) 682-6176 info@foxbag.com www.solutionsbyfox.com

Haines Equipment, Inc.

P.O. Box I, 20 Carrington Street Avoca, NY 14809 (607) 566-2234 www.hainesequipment.com Hainesinc@aol.com

Kerian Machines

P.O. Box 311, Grafton, ND 58237 (701) 352-0480 sales@kerian.com www.kerian.com

Lee Shuknecht & Sons

4458 Ford Road, Elba, NY 14058 (585) 757-6628 mail@shuknecht.com www.shuknecht.com

UNITED STATES Lancaster & San Joaquin Valley (661) 9785342 Desert Southwest (928) 4467737 Colorado & New Mexico (970) 3969728 Idaho, East Oregon, Utah & Nevada (208) 9411421 Skagit Valley, Washington (360) 9417503 Rio Grande Valley & West Texas (956) 6185574

MEXICO Torreón, Coahuila (461) 1173878 Colima, Col. (461) 1040134 San Luis Potosi (461) 1409452 Chihuahua (461) 1719401 Tamaulipas (461) 1342421 Irapuato, Gto. (461) 5465792

(800) 952-7333 WWW.SEEDWAY.COM OnionWorld.net

2024 Buyers’ Guide EQUIPMENT Nicholson Equipment

SIZING / SORTING (CONT.) Unitec USA Tong Engineering

505 S. Division Ave. Fremont, MI 49412 (231) 924-5647 sales@tongengineering.com www.tongengineering.com

Tong is a world leading manufacturer of advanced and gentle onion sizing, sorting, unloading, dumping, filling and weighing equipment. We manufacture high quality mild and stainless steel handling systems that are built for minimal maintenance and maximum performance; from single machines to custom built turnkey installations. The complete onion handling solution - designed with you in mind.

Volm Companies

Onion World • November 2023

310 N. Cluff Avenue, Suite 117 Lodi, CA, 95240 (209) 369-6200 www.unitec-group.com unitec.usa@unitec-group.com 2623 Euclid Avenue, Suite B Wenatchee, WA 98801 (209) 369 6200 unitec.usa@unitec-group.com www.unisorting.com

TOPPERS / TAILERS Eqraft

Proud member Onion Tech Alliance Rutger Keurhorst info@eqraft.com www.eqraft.com We build fully automated onion facilities with solutions ranging from grading and weighing to packing and palletizing.

Proprietary high-speed blade toppers and topping solutions for production in excess of 50 ton/hr with and without walk-in enclosure

Lee Shuknecht & Sons 4458 Ford Road Elba, NY 14058 (585) 757-6628 mail@shuknecht.com www.shuknecht.com

505 S. Division Ave Fremont, MI 49412 (231) 924-6454 sales@nicholson-equipment.com www.nicholson-equipment.com

Field toppers, windrowers, harvesters, top-tailers

Top Air, Inc.

101 N. Roswell Blvd. Parma, ID 83660 (208) 722-6936 info@topairinc.com www.topair.ag

WINDROWERS

Top Air, Inc.

101 N. Roswell Blvd. Parma, ID 83660 (208) 722-6936 info@topairinc.com www.topair.ag

Edp Electro-bagger model EB 2218 DF

Committed to onion advocacy, education, family

This model now has the ability to do bags as well as cartons with the new touch screen controls.

Join Today

It also comes with pneumatic bag clamps as standard equipment.

For more information visit

chinookequipment.com or call 800-219-2245 or 208-331-1126 Onion World Buyers Guide 2023 Ad FINAL_2.pdf

www.onions-usa.org 1

10/4/23

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To apply online, hover smart phone over this quick response code.

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2024 Buyers’ Guide MISC. AUCTIONEERS

Booker Auction Co.

31 Eltopia West Road Eltopia, WA 99330 (509) 297-9292 www.bookerauction.com

Miedema Auctioneering Inc 601 Gordon Industrial Ct. SW Byron Center, MI 49315 (800) 527-8243 www.miedemaauctioneering.com

IRRIGATION Clearwater Supply

Better Onion Packaging

Columbia Basin 1086 South 1st Ave., Othello, WA 99344 (509) 488-5793 Treasure Valley 2232 SW 4th Ave., Ontario, OR 97914 (541) 889-0007

Precision Ag Drip Irrigation Design and Service Featuring the special commodities: onions, asparagus, blueberries, corn, hops, lavender, melons, mint, nurseries, peppers, shallots, squash, and vines

POLLINATION CAGES Redwood Empire Awning Co.

3547 Santa Rosa Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95407 (707) 588-9900 mike@redwoodempireawning.com www.redwoodempireawning.com

Seed cage covers & frames, pollination cages and frames

Find the right bag for your product www.foxbag.com 18

Onion World • November 2023

PARTS BELTING / CHAIN Haines Equipment, Inc.

P.O. Box I, 20 Carrington Street Avoca, NY 14809 (607) 566-2234 www.hainesequipment.com Hainesinc@aol.com

Lee Shuknecht & Sons 4458 Ford Road Elba, NY 14058 (585) 757-6628 mail@shuknecht.com www.shuknecht.com

Noffsinger

500 6th Ave., P.O. Box 1150 Greeley, CO 80632 (970) 352-0463 or (800) 525-8922 Menahga, MN: (218) 564-5149 Filer, ID: (208) 326-4306 www.noffsingermfg.com

Top Air, Inc.

101 N. Roswell Blvd. Parma, ID 83660 (208) 722-6936 info@topairinc.com www.topair.ag

PINCH ROLLS Lee Shuknecht & Sons 4458 Ford Road Elba, NY 14058 (585) 757-6628 mail@shuknecht.com www.shuknecht.com

Noffsinger

500 6th Ave., P.O. Box 1150 Greeley, CO 80632 (970) 352-0463 or (800) 525-8922 Menahga, MN: (218) 564-5149 Filer, ID: (208) 326-4306 www.noffsingermfg.com

Rietveld Equipment

We take perfect care of your onions. Discover the ultimate onion stacking & palletizing solutions. Do you need the ability to accumulate boxes with multiple SKUs? Scan the QR to watch our flagship machine VPM-VHV stack pallets at blistering speeds or visit verbruggen-palletizing.com

4067 E. 4000 N. Road Bourbonnais, IL 60914 (815) 936-9800 john@rietveldequipment.com www.rietveldequipment.com

OnionWorld.net

2024 Buyers’ Guide SEED ONION SEED American Takii, Inc.

301 Natividad Road Salinas, CA 93906 (831) 443-4901 www.takii.com Head of National Sales: Greg Hardison (831) 756-7053 - ghardison@takii.com East Coast / Canada: James Young (269) 945-7799 - jyoung@takii.com West Coast: Trace Pafford (559) 326-3545 - tpafford@takii.com Southwest U.S.: Matthew Leonard (760) 756-8188 - mleonard@takii.com National Vegetable Sales Manager: Mitchell Young (603) 393-3488 - myoung@takii.com Bunching, short day, intermediate, long day and overwintering onion seed

BASF Vegetable Seeds

Sales Specialists Kevin Moe (509) 975-6762 Kevin.moe@vegetableseeds.basf.com Columbia Basin WA & Western OR Sarah Beaver (208) 550-5565 Sarah.beaver@vegetableseeds.basf.com Oregon & Idaho Brett Ross (208) 504-9154 Brett.ross@vegetableseeds.basf.com Oregon, Idaho, Utah & CO Grant Aitken (209) 712-3665 Grant.aitken@vegetableseeds.basf.com California & Nevada Product Development Michael Straugh (208) 249-5942 Michael.straugh@vegetableseeds.basf.com Product Specialist NAFTA region Main Office BASF Vegetable Seeds 1200 Anderson Corner Road Parma, Idaho 83660 (208) 674-4000 www.nunhemsusa.com Dealers Stokes Seeds Scott Rush (239) 405-2591 srush@stokeseeds.com Georgia, Vidalia TS&L Seeds Norman Linkenhoger (956) 578-4505 normanl@tslseed.com Texas, New Mexico 20

Onion World • November 2023

Bejo Seeds, Inc.

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

Bunching, intermediate, long day, and short day for both conventional and organic operations

Crookham Company, Inc.

P.O. Box 520 Caldwell ID 83606-0520 (208) 459-7451 ccoinfo@crookham.com www.crookham.com West Coast and International Representative: Lyndon Johnson (208) 369-3390 lyndonj@crookham.com Midwest Representative: Pieter Droegkamp (262) 202-4019 - pieterd@crookham.com East Coast Representative: Luther McLaughlin (208) 789-4254 - lutherm@crookham.com

DP Seeds LLC

8269 E. Highway 95 Yuma, AZ 85365 (928) 341-8494 info@dpseeds.com www.dpseeds.com

Bunching, short day, intermediate, long day and overwintering seed

Enza Zaden USA, Inc.

7 Harris Place Salinas, CA 93901 (855) 800-ENZA (3692) customer.service@enzazaden.com www.enzazaden.us From Seed to Solution

Gowan Seed

Brian Haddon (971) 282-2884 - Western OR & WA Steve Graton (509) 531-7254 - Columbia Basin Jimmy Graton (805) 305-5447 - Columbia Basin Curtis Mokler (509) 820-8489 - Columbia Basin Wade Schwark (209) 607-2870 - Treasure Valley, UT & ND Larry Duell (970) 397-8566 - Colorado Jeremy Toney (928) 580-1967 - Imperial Valley Christophe Veron (956) 802-3478 - Texas & Tamaulipas Russ Brown (559) 799-0799 - San Joaquín Valley Terence Wojewoda (559) 280-5665 - San Joaquín Valley Tom Boschee (209) 607-8517 - Stockton Greg Patti (575) 202-2250 - New Mexico Cameron Cruz (956) 280-3950 - Rio Grande Valley, TX Eddie Vernor (830) 279-8970 - Winter Garden, TX Derek Levy (912) 433-4752 - Vidalia Region Blake Myers (585) 303-3252 - Northeast Josh Heller (717) 940-5440 - Northeast Dan Eggert (585) 613-5297 - Northeast

Hazera Seeds

3155 S.W. 10th St. Suite L Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 (954) 429-9445 info@hazera.us.com www.hazera.us.com West Coast Sales Manager Barry Younkin (559) 217-9417

SEED

HAINES ONION EQUIPMENT Available in Stainless Steel STANDARD & FINISHING ROLL TYPE TOPPER

TRIPLE VIBRATORY BED BLADE TOPPER INSPECTION AND GRADING LINE SYSTEMS

Seedway

Offices in: Nampa, ID - Headquarters (208) 442-5251 Lancaster & San Joaquin Valleys (661) 397-5717 Desert Southwest (760) 398-2729 Colorado & New Mexico (970) 396-9728 Idaho, East Oregon, Utah & Nevada (208) 890-4549 Washington & Western Oregon (509) 551-4060 Skagit Valley, Washington (360) 941-7503 Georgia, Florida & the Carolinas (912) 585-8934 Rio Grande Valley & West Texas (956) 618-5574 Winter Garden Texas (830) 278-5850 Celaya Gto. (461) 117-3878 Colima, Col. (461) 104-0134 Zona Norte de Mexico y Bajio (461) 609-2674 Chihuahua (461) 171-9401 Tamaulipas (461) 134-2421 Irapuato, Gto. (461) 546-5792

ther yO Man oducts ! Pr ilable Av a

SINGULATION TABLES AUTO BAGGER/BOXERS HURST/SINCLAIR COMPATIBLE BRUSHER WITH BLOWER Manufacturers of Potato, Onion and Other Produce Equipment: Complete Line of Custom & Stock Conveyors, Onion Baggers, Blowers, Brushers, Singulators, Driers, Diggers, Windrowers, Harvesters, Bulk Avoca, NY 14809 & 607-566-2234 or 8531 & Fax 607-566-2240 Hoppers, Bulk Wagons, Bulk Loaders, Pallet Box Fillers & Movers, and www.hainesequipment.com email: HainesInc@aol.com Tippers. Complete Bulk & Table Grading Systems Solutions. BIN BOX DUMPERS

HAINES EQUIPMENT INC.

Description: Available in both 30# and 50# in all colors. 2000/bags per roll. Stock Color: Red Other colors available: Orange, White, Blue, Purple, Tan, Green, etc...

“Bunching, long day, short day.”

Seminis

800 North Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63167 (866) 334-1056 www.onionexperience.com Sales Central Valley, CA David Scheidt (559) 367-7080 Desert Southwest Christian Drye (928) 318-0067 Pacific Northwest Richard Navarrete (208) 317-6451 Texas Lee Schill (956) 227-3442

Ask about our stocking program.

Mesh Rollstock material is less expensive than premade bags. As Labor costs continue to increase, automation is in high demand on all packing lines. With the investment of mesh rollstock baggers, Thorpack strives to meet packing house needs with the best mesh rollstock available. No need for pack off tables and hand packing labor. Move forward into automation and reduce packing cost with this mesh rollstock material. Your cost savings on your material and less labor will generally pay for this machine within a short period of time. 20# Sewing thread available for all mesh rollstock material Equipment: Mesh rollstock functions excellent on the following equipment: Upmatic, Ilapack, Gillen Kirch, H-Tech, Saclark, Volmpack, plus more.

Stokes Seeds, Inc.

13031 Reflections Drive Holland, MI 49424 (800) 962-4999 customerservice.us@stokeseeds.com www.stokeseeds.com OnionWorld.net

2024 Buyers’ Guide SEED SEED CAGES Redwood Empire Awning Co.

3547 Santa Rosa Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95407 (707) 588-9900 mike@redwoodempireawning.com www.redwoodempireawning.com

Seed cage covers & frames, pollination cages & frames

SEED COATING / PELLETING Germains Seed Technology

8333 Swanston Lane Gilroy, CA 95020 (408) 848-8120 nasales@germains.com www.germains.com

Germains Seed Technology Seed Dynamics, Inc. 1081-B Harkins Road P.O. Box 6069 Salinas, CA 93901 (831) 424-1177 www.seeddynamics.com

ORGANIC SEED TREATMENTS Germains Seed Technology 8333 Swanston Lane Gilroy, CA 95020 (408) 848-8120 nasales@germains.com www.germains.com

Seed Dynamics, Inc. 1081-B Harkins Road P.O. Box 6069 Salinas, CA 93901 (831) 424-1177 www.seeddynamics.com

Onion World • November 2023

SEED FILMS / SEED PRIMING

Seed Dynamics, Inc.

1081-B Harkins Road P.O. Box 6069, Salinas, CA 93901 (831) 424-1177 www.seeddynamics.com

Seed Dynamics, Inc.

1081-B Harkins Road P.O. Box 6069, Salinas, CA 93901 (831) 424-1177 www.seeddynamics.com

17297 Hulbert Road Mount Vernon, WA 98273 (360) 466-3191 www.skagitseedservices.com

Seed coatings and treatments formulated for the needs of onion growers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

SEED TREATMENTS 8333 Swanston Lane Gilroy, CA 95020 (408) 848-8120 nasales@germains.com www.germains.com

Skagit Seed Services, Inc.

Seedway

Skagit Seed Services, Inc. 17297 Hulbert Road Mount Vernon, WA 98273 (360) 466-3191 www.skagitseedservices.com

Seed coatings and treatments formulated for the needs of onion growers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Photo courtesy Casey Crookham

Kerian SPEED SIZER A gentle way to size onions quickly and accurately

Proven for use in: Whites, Reds, Golds, Browns, Spanish, Pearl Onions & More Watch Our Sizers In Action At:

www.kerian.com GENTLE: Separates without damaging onions ACCURATE: Precisely grades onions of all shapes and varieties FAST: Thirteen standard models custom-designed to meet your needs sort from 1000 lb/hr to 80,000 lb/hr

SIMPLE: Effective but simple design provides a rugged, low cost, low maintenance machine at a high value to our customers. It can even be used in the field!

KERIAN MACHINES INC. 1709 Hwy 81 S, PO Box 311, Grafton, ND USA 58237

701-352-0480 sales@kerian.com 1 2023-10-10 9:16 am

23-11 Onion World-4.9x7.3.v1.pdf•

Fax 701-352-3776

OnionWorld.net

2024 Buyers’ Guide SHIPPERS

Columbia Basin Onion, LLC P.O. Box 1191 78727 Westland Road Hermiston, OR 97838 (541) 667-9472 www.columbiabasinonion.com

Harris Fresh Inc.

26062 Fresno-Coalinga Road Coalinga, CA 93210 (559) 884-2236 Fax: (559) 884-2219 www.harrisfresh.com

Conventional & Organic Onions

Shuman Farms

278 Hwy. 23 South Reidsville, GA 30453 (912) 557-4477 marketing@shumanfarmsga.com www.shumanfarmsga.com

Industry-leading, year-round grower and shipper of premium sweet onions.

Paradigm Fresh Gills Onions

1051 S. Pacific Ave. Oxnard, CA 93030 Office: (805) 240 -1983 Customer Service: (800) 348-2255 www.gillsonions.com

Year-round value-added conventional and organic onions.

www.paradigmfresh.com info@paradigmfresh.com 19974 County Road S Fort Morgan, CO 80701 (970) 775-2049 144 N. Oregon St. Ontario, OR 97914 Ashley Robertson: (208) 739-0831 ashley@paradigmfresh.com

Gumz Farms

N570 6th Court Endeavor, WI 53930 Main Office (608) 981-2488 Onion Sales Doug Bulgrin Cell (608) 697-6775 doug@gumzfarmswi.com Potato Sales Tom Bulgrin Cell (608) 697-2137 tom@gumzfarmswi.com www.gumzfarmswi.com

Gumz Farms is a 4th Generation farm that is proud to offer Wisconsin grown yellow and red onions and red and yellow potatoes. We are your Midwest connection and pack produce year round.

Onion World • November 2023

Sunset Produce LLC 30103 West Gwinn Rd. Prosser, WA 99350 (509) 786-3996 www.sunsetonions.com

“Quality onions from Sunrise to Sunset!”

The Onion House, LLC Potandon Produce LLC 1210 Pier View Drive Idaho Falls, ID 83402 (208) 524-1900 www.potandon.com

Exclusive marketer of Green Giant fresh potatoes and onions.

P.O. Box 170 Weslaco, TX 78599 (956) 973-0552 www.theonionhouse.net Sales: Don Ed Holmes Cell: (956) 330-2696 Chuck Hill Cell: (956) 330-5559 Accounting: Janie Holmes (956) 373-6388 Grower Relations: Brent Barr Cell: (970) 397-1194

SHIPPERS

Treasure Valley Farms 597 Grove Road Ontario, Oregon 97914

Packing Shed 135 Railroad St. Weiser, Idaho 83672 Phone: (208) 414-3479 Fax: (208) 414-3900 Packing Shed Manager Shelly Frisby Cell: (541) 212-0561 sfrisby@agrinw.com

Willowcreek Produce, LLC

Vee’s Produce

(715) 374-3300 www.veesproduce.com Onion Sales Jason Vee jason@veesproduce.com

Servicing the US and Canada with year-round supply of red, white, yellow, and sweet onions since 1990.

4487 N Rd. D P.O. Box 458 Vale, OR 97918 Tim H. Gluch Cell: (541) 216-1730 tim@willowcreekproduce.com

Director of Marketing Brian Debban Cell: (208) 412-7800 bdebban@agrinw.com

Exploring nature never stops

BEJO ONIONS - LAYERS OF EXCELLENCE TANIA

RED SENSATION

ALISON

PIRATE

New short day yellow granex introduction: Strong upright tops with great plant habit. High yielding deeper granex shape, strong root system, and firm bulbs. Pink root and bolting resistance.

Early maturing grano red. Strong healthy tops. Pink root resistance. Excellent bulb firmness and color. Uniform round bulbs. Good internal color. Widely adapted across short day growing regions. High percentage single centers.

Late season short day yellow granex with upright tops. Deeper high yielding granex shape. Bolting resistance and very uniform. Strong outer skin layers. Produces well sized bulbs that result in good yields. Great option to fill later season slot in Vidalia.

Main Season short day yellow granex. Attractive lighter colored skin. Uniform and extra firm bulbs with high yielding deeper granex shape. High percentage of jumbos. Great post harvest appearance. A widely adapted variety across many short day regions.

Earliness: Early main Sowing period: 09-15 - 09-25 Taste: Sweet Pyruvates: 3.6 Lacrymatory Factor: 2.8 Shape: Granex IR: Foc; Pt

Earliness: Early Sowing period: 09-25 - 10-05 Taste: Very sweet Shape: Grano IR: Foc; Pt

Earliness: Late Sowing period: 09-25 - 10-05 Taste: Very sweet Pyruvates: 3.5 Lacrymatory Factor: 2.4 Shape: Granex IR: Foc; Pt

Earliness: Main Sowing period: 09-18 - 09-28 Taste: Sweet Pyruvates: 3.4 Lacrymatory Factor: 2.6 Shape: Granex IR: Foc; Pt

f Bejo Seeds Inc. (main office) 1972 Silver Spur Pl. Oceano, CA | T: 805- 473-2199 | E: info@bejoseeds.com f bejoseeds.com

OnionWorld.net

2024 Buyers’ Guide STORAGE BINS

Volm Companies

Onion World • November 2023

CHEMICALS FOR STORAGE

REFRIGERATION / MONITORING / CONTROL PANELS

Agri-Stor Companies (208) 733-7000 www.agri-stor.com

Crop Protection Products and Services Sanitizer and Disinfectants, Storage Treatments

Agri-Stor Companies (208) 733-7000 www.agri-stor.com

Agri-Star Storage Control Panel with App Gellert Ventilation and Refrigeration Equipment

Industrial Ventilation, Inc. 723 E. Karcher Road Nampa, ID 83687 (208) 463-6305 www.ivi-air.com

Restrain

Emily Merk Sales Manager North America (509) 318-0148 www.restrain.io

Ethylene for post-harvest sprout control

Industrial Ventilation, Inc. 723 E. Karcher Road Nampa, ID 83687 (208) 463-6305 www.ivi-air.com

Control is in SOUTHERN IDAHO

WASHINGTON

208.733.7000

509.349.7000

EASTERN IDAHO

COLORADO

208.785.7000

719.850.3017

r u o yP hands.

ut a stop to the constant battle of maintaining the proper temperature, humidity, and airflow in your onion storage. With our customized Agri-Star control panel and intuitive app, you are able to control your storage climate remotely. We also provide storage and product sanitizing and disinfecting to help maintain great quality during storage season. Since 1960, we have been the experts in providing solutions to storage challenges. Take control of your onion storage today!

Making a difference in the quality of your storage.

www.agri-stor.com OnionWorld.net

New Varieties, Crop Protection and Technology Story and photos by Dave Alexander, Publisher

Jace Crossley explains Bayer crop protection choices, as breeder Scott Hendricks looks on.

he Pacific Northwest Bayer Experience debuted last year in Payette, Idaho. Richard Navarrete with Vegetables by Bayer Seminis hinted at the time of bigger things to come, saying, “Wait until you see what we do next year.” This simple statement seemingly promised bigger and better, and that was indeed what attendees found in August 2023 at the Seminis Vegetable Seeds facility in Payette. The Experience is much more than a field day. The event gives Bayer a chance to highlight existing and new Seminis onion seeds, talk to attendees about Bayer crop protection for onions, and show off other seed offerings such as corn, watermelon and carrots. It is also a trade show-type event, complete with display booths from a wide range of companies offering precision ag equipment, new ag technologies and even ATVs.

Rantizo demonstrates the company’s drone spraying service during the PNW Bayer Experience. The drone can spray about 4 acres in eight minutes.

Onion World • November 2023

New Varieties

Navarrete divides onions into two categories: shed starters and shed runners. Shed starters are the first onions out of the field and onto the packing line. Shed runners are long-storage onions that can be packed from the beginning of September all the way to June. New variety 2468 is an early, long-day yellow shed starter. Seminis is excited about this new product, which has great yield and excellent single centers. Navarrete said the quality of 2468 is “overall, unprecedented in the market.” 4677 is an early red shed starter that has better external and internal quality and color than Seminis’ current offerings. Reds usually are hard to grow early in the season because they don’t take heat well, but 4677 handles the heat and can be harvested in early August. This product will be launched soon. The flagship shed runners for Seminis are Crusher and Hatchet. These two yellow varieties “check all the boxes,” Navarrete said, of yield, single-centers, scale and great storage. New shed runner 1608 will be soon added to Seminis’ lineup. 1608 is a low-pungency, mild and sweet red that Navarrete said will be great for growers and at retail. It will be a good salad bar option in February because it won’t be “spicy.” To prove his point, he crunched a bite out of a 1608 red, saying afterward, “That’s good.” Breeder Scott Hendricks said Seminis focuses first on resistance to diseases such as Fusarium, pink root and blight. The other driving factor in the company’s breeding program is meeting enduser requirements, while also keeping varieties grower friendly. Hendricks said that ringing, single-center varieties versus long-term storage varieties have typically been separate products, but he thinks in the next five years, those two traits will merge into one onion.

Richard Navarrete speaks to attendees at the PNW Bayer Experience in Payette, Idaho.

ASA-LIFT North America Sales Distributor

David Offerdahl

(831) 240-9600 d.offerdahl@spudnik.com

Crop Protection

Jace Crossley was on hand at the event to educate growers about Bayer’s crop protection products. Pointing to trials conducted onsite at the Bayer facility in Payette, he said Propulse fungicide is showing fantastic results controlling powdery mildew and Cercospora leaf spot.

www.spudnik.com

As part of the Grimme Group, ASA-LIFT is a leading international company developing, producing and distributing vegetable equipment. For more than 80 years, ASA-LIFT machines have been sold all over the world. OnionWorld.net

PACIFIC NORTHWEST BAYER EXPERIENCE Movento is applied back-to-back at 2.5 ounces, the active ingredient in the plant builds up, helping to subdue thrips.

New Tech

Two companies of the several in attendance at Payette were given time to show their products in action. Rantizo uses DJI-brand drones to spray crops. Customers can have a Rantizo representative operate the drone, or buy the equipment outright and do their own spraying. Three models of drones are available, with capabilities from 15 to 20 acres per hour. The Orio autonomous tool carrier from Naio Technologies is distinctive in that it uses a changeable tool bar. This gives the robot versatility and flexibility. It can be used for seeding, cultivating, weeding, data collection and more.

New 1608 stores well, is mild and has low pungency. Kimberly Beeler with Bayer delivers a watermelon for attendees to sample. Bayer generously encouraged guests to take home onions, carrots, watermelons, corn and peppers grown onsite.

Velum Prime, with fluopyram as the active ingredient, has been used on onions for just the last couple years. In Bayer trials, onions treated with Velum Prime have yielded very well with good quality. Fluopyram is unique in that it has fungicidal as well as nematicidal activity. When 6.5 ounces are applied at first irrigation, Velum Prime suppresses nematodes, as well as pink root, thereby increasing bulb size. Crossley recommends Movento as part of an insect control plan. When

Next Year?

The Experience grew from last year’s onion trials and a couple precision ag displays to a bunch more crops, exhibitors and presentations this year. It may be hard to top this year’s event, and nothing is set for 2024. But the Seminis Vegetable Seeds facility in Payette is getting a new building for seed production. The smart bet is if this building is done in time, “Wait until you see what we do next year” will apply again in an even more impressive fashion.

Amazing skin is one of the touted features of new shed starter 2468.

Onion World • November 2023

Attendees at the PNW Bayer Experience check out the Naio Orio autonomous tool carrier, which can be configured for seeding, cultivating and weeding.

CALENDAR

•

Nov. 15-16 Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association Conference and Trade Show Three Rivers Convention Center Kennewick, Wash. Sheri Nolan, (509) 585-5460 or www.pnva.org

Nov. 29 - Dec. 2 NOA Annual Convention National Allium Research Conference San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk San Antonio, Texas www.onions-usa.org www.alliumnet.com/narc

•

Dec. 5-7 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO DeVos Place Grand Rapids, Mich. www.glexpo.com

OnionWorld.net

Considering the Weather Story and photos by Denise Keller, Editor

eather ranks high on most farmers’ list of growing challenges each year. The 2023 growing season was no exception in the Columbia Basin of Washington state, where unseasonable weather caused unusual symptoms in some of the region’s onions. Lindsey du Toit, a plant pathologist with Washington State University (WSU), reported on several weather-related issues at the WSU Onion Field Day, held Aug. 31 near Moses Lake, Washington.

Early-Season Temperature Shift

In late May/early June, abnormal growth was observed in multiple onion crops in the northern Columbia Basin. The third or fourth true leaf (sometimes several leaves) was trapped inside the next youngest leaf. The trapped leaf would bulge and eventually emerge out of the leaf in which it was trapped, bent and twisted. The symptoms, which were observed on four cultivars, resembled those caused by herbicides in the Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC) group 15, such as Outlook (active ingredient dimethenamid-P). However, HRAC group 15 herbicides were not used on any of the affected fields, and symptomatic plants tested negative for an extensive array of herbicides, ruling out the possibility of herbicide drift. du Toit called on her network of researchers to help pinpoint the cause of the symptoms. Michael Havey, a retired onion breeder from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explained that each leaf on an onion plant emerges through a “pore” in the base of the next youngest leaf. In the affected plants, the youngest leaf did not emerge through the pore and became trapped inside the older leaf. He attributed the occurrence to much more rapid growth of new leaves after a period of slow growth of the older leaves. The explanation made sense, given that the first three weeks of April were exceptionally cold, followed by a

Onion World • November 2023

WSU plant pathologist Lindsey du Toit explains how late-season heat stress impacted bulb quality in some Columbia Basin onion fields.

dramatic spike in temperature into the 90s the last week of April. During this very warm period, rapid growth of the youngest leaves outpaced the growth rate of leaves that developed during the cold weeks. The older leaves may not have developed normally during the period of slow growth, and then the new leaves did not “find” the pore and became trapped. Most of the affected plants eventually outgrew the symptoms. “I thought this was really informative to understand how that sudden shift in temperature early in the season can cause that abnormal growth that we might sometimes have attributed to herbicides,” du Toit said. “You can get the same or very similar symptoms caused by very different things, so trying to get an accurate diagnosis is really important.” Knowing what’s causing abnormal plant growth – herbicide damage versus weather patterns, for example – can help better inform crop management decisions. In this instance, the affected fields were under organic management, so determining whether or not the symptoms were caused by herbicide exposure was critical to the marketability of the crop. A sudden shift in temperature caused young onion leaves to become trapped inside older leaves in the neck of some onion plants in the Columbia Basin. The leaves then emerged bent and twisted. Courtesy photo Bruce Swindler with Skone and Connors and Jason Hafer with Nutrien Ag Solutions visit during the field day.

Late-Season Heat Stress

In contrast to the cool start to the season, the Columbia Basin experienced some late-season heat when temperatures spiked around the third week of August. The unusually high temperatures for that late in the season caused three symptoms in some onion crops: sunburn, translucent scale and internal dry scale. As often happens when high temperatures arrive late in the season, after onion tops have fallen and the bulbs are more exposed to the sun, onions – particularly red and white varieties – suffered some sunburn of the outer skins. Internally, some onion bulbs also developed translucent scales. High temperatures late in the season signaled the onion tops to fall prematurely even though the bulb’s fleshy scale tissue was still respiring. The carbon dioxide given off by the respiring bulb tissue, which would normally escape through OnionWorld.net

WSU ONION FIELD DAY

the necks, instead built up in the scales. This can cause the fleshy scales to take on a clear, glassy appearance called translucent scale, downgrading the quality of the bulb and possibly disqualifying it from the market. Additionally, symptoms of internal dry scale were observed in multiple fields of one variety. Incidence was over 30 percent in some fields and more than 50 percent in one field. In addition to reducing the quality of the bulb, this collapse of fleshy scale can also make the onion more prone to bacterial or fungal infections. To limit this type of heat stress on onions, growers can consider altering the timing of late-season cultural practices to potentially control the speed at which the crop might finish the curing and maturation process in the field, du Toit said. For example, undercutting onions earlier could encourage roots to stop taking up moisture, slow down respiration, and speed up curing and drying of the bulbs.

Lessons Learned

While growers can’t control the weather, being aware of the many ways weather can impact onions can help growers make more informed crop management decisions. “This is a good demonstration of how environmental conditions can drive some of the problems we see. These are not pathological or entomological problems. They’re basically physiological stress from cold in the spring and heat in August,” du Toit said. Knowing that Mother Nature is always full of surprises, du Toit reminded growers to not assume their crop will be on the same schedule as the previous year. Instead, she suggested tracking weather conditions, recognizing that what they do as growers can exacerbate or mitigate stress on the crop, and modifying growing practices to reflect changes in weather conditions.

Onion World • November 2023

WSU’s Lindsey du Toit and Tim Waters discuss symptoms in bulbs affected by late-season heat stress. The WSU onion cultivar trial included 52 entries from seven seed companies.

Rui Liu, a WSU weed scientist, gives an overview of an herbicide trial she is conducting.

Cody Nickoloff examines an onion grown in the cultivar trial.

Johnny Suarez and Rachel LeFave with Brian Andersen Farms check out the results of the onion cultivar trial.

OnionWorld.net

Tearless Sunions Now Widely Available to Growers Story and photos by Dave Alexander, Publisher

fter BASF’s recent announcement that its Nunhems S7210 Sunions variety will be widely available for growers in the Pacific Northwest and Treasure Valley, the Nunhems Onion Showcase on Aug. 28 in Parma, Idaho, was the perfect opportunity to get some more details about this tearless variety. We spoke with Kaitlyn O’Neal, BASF Nunhems onion regional crop lead for the Americas, during the Showcase about Sunions and BASF’s new Eco Onion sustainability initiative. Where were Sunions bred? These were bred in the U.S. They’ve been a long time in development – about 30 years. Our previous breeder, Rick Watson, was the main lead on them, bringing them to commercialization. The variety name is S7210, but we call them Sunions under our brand name. We know Sunions will be readily available for next growing season, but how will grower/shippers and grocery stores market them? Are they a premium product, a sweet or what? I see them as a really nice domestic sweet in the winter marketing season. They will be a direct competition to an imported sweet in the winter that happens to be tearless. Will grocery stores get a premium price? We’ve seen them with some premium and some without. But I really believe there is a niche that people are interested in buying these with a premium price. The tearlessness really does drive consumer interest in these onions. We’ve had multiple consumer surveys that say they have interest because of the tearlessness. Then when they try them, they love them because they are a really nice sweet variety.

Onion World • November 2023

Kaitlyn O'Neal, BASF Nunhems onion regional crop lead for the Americas, shows off the tearless Sunions variety grown in Parma, Idaho.

What did you find in the consumer surveys? Tearlessness was a really important factor both from a first-time purchase and a repeat purchase. About 27 percent of people who purchased S7210 multiple times said that tearlessness is a factor for repeat purchases. Sweet onion taste and flavor is also an important purchase driver, at 25 percent. Will the grower have to pay a premium price for the seed? He will. We expect that this is a premium product in the marketplace for consumers. We have to capture that value, as well, to continue bringing new

innovations like S7210, so it will have a bit of a premium price. S7210 is a long-day, right? When does it mature? It’s an early-maturing long-day yellow. It matures around 100 days, which is very similar to our Montero variety. How does it store? They store very well. We can store into March – April without a problem. And they just get sweeter the longer they’re stored.

Let’s talk about seed availability. We have really nice seed supply. When we first introduced this variety, we were building up our seed supply and we were just working with a couple growers to understand the market. Now, going into 2024, we know that there is demand from consumers and we’re opening up this variety to any grower that’s interested in purchasing it. We’re excited to see this variety go either into the Sunions brand like we’ve had in the past or to be put into a grower’s or packer’s own brand. We’re seeing some pretty interesting brand names coming out. There might be one called Smiley’s coming out this winter. Smiley’s plays off the tearless trait a little, but any other brand names that focus on that? In Australia, they have a brand name called Happy Chop. There are lots of

interesting names that come out of it because of the tearlessness. Is this variety for the Pacific Northwest? It does well in Idaho, Washington and into Oregon. It doesn’t do as well under overhead irrigation, so it really prefers drip irrigation due to the top strength. Let’s talk about BASF Nunhems’ new Eco Onion sustainability initiative for a minute. Your tagline is “a truly sustainable onion.” What is this program? We discovered through multiple years of research that some of our varieties could be grown with less. So, with less water, less fertilizer and following an IPM protocol, we can still get the same yield as the grower standard variety. What varieties are we talking about? Some of the old favorites like Joaquin

and Vaquero. We’ve shown you can use 10 percent less water, 30 percent less fertilizer and, if you use our IPM protocol, you can still grow the same amount of Joaquin as you have been. What is the IPM protocol? If growers chose to get certified and show they are following the right protocols, the Integrated Pest Management protocol we offer can be IPM-certified. For example, Walmart has required all produce to be IPM-certified by 2025. So this program would count for that certification. Not only can growers become more sustainable and get certified, it doesn’t hurt to be able to save on input costs and get the same yield. Find out more about Sunions and Eco Onion at www.nunhemsusa.com.

Nunhems displays its varieties at the Onion Showcase. The Joaquin variety, popular in Idaho and the Pacific Northwest, can be grown using 10 percent less water and 30 percent less fertilizer when using Nunhems’ Eco Onion IPM protocol.

Sunions pass the sniff and tearless test right from the field. The variety gets sweeter and less pungent as it’s stored.

OnionWorld.net

Defender Displays Strengths By Kris Crookham, Crookham Company

arming has faced several challenges during recent growing seasons. However, Crookham Company wants to highlight some good news in the onion growing business in the Columbia Basin of the Pacific Northwest, where 2023 was a great season for long-day onions. The spring was conducive to early root and leaf development after emergence. The late spring and early summer was warm, yet moderate, and the onion crop stand establishment was better than in previous years. Defender, a variety from Crookham, thrived in these conditions and added uniformity and yield to the equation. The stand was near perfect, with an onion every 4 inches and healthy bulbs all the way down the rows. The quality of the seed was seen in the striking uniformity of the plant growth over the season as the plants looked consistent through each stage. Defender is among the Crookham onion varieties included in the new “Growing Guidelines” section of the company’s

Crookham’s Defender variety looks promising in mid-June (top) and shows uniform plant growth in mid-July (bottom).

Onion World • November 2023

website. The section details instructions for plant spacing, planting date, fertility, weed control, fungicide usage and harvest. To access the variety-specific recommendations, visit www.crookham.com, click on “Our Products,” and then select the variety. The Crookham team is excited to follow the yields from the Basin this season and is looking forward to next season. Crookham's Defender produces uniformly shaped bulbs with rich bronze scale.

IN THE NEWS

OSU Welcomes New Entomologist Back to HAREC Josephine Antwi has joined Oregon State University (OSU) as the new irrigated crop entomology extension specialist at the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center (HAREC). She is familiar with the region and its pests after working as a postdoctoral research scholar at HAREC from 2015 to 2017. In her new role, Antwi will lead the development, implementation and evaluation of extension and research programs in arthropod pest management to support sustainable irrigated farming systems. She will work with stakeholders, local industry and county extension agents to develop an applied research program and deliver research-based solutions. Antwi earned a Ph.D. in entomology at Texas A&M University and previously worked as an assistant professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Syngenta Grows Management Team Syngenta Vegetable Seeds has promoted Juan Pablo López to serve as the company’s territory head of vegetable seeds for the U.S. and Canada. López, who has more than 20 years of experience in the agricultural sector, joined Syngenta in 2007. His most recent position was global product manager of insect control for Syngenta, where he was said to be instrumental in driving the global strategy for the company’s Tymirium technology, maximizing the product life cycle of Syngenta pyrethroids, and developing crossover initiatives with biologicals and seed care.

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OnionWorld.net

NEW PRODUCTS

Companies Partner to Provide Mobile Drip Irrigation Rivulis and Dragon-Line have formed an exclusive distribution agreement in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. With this partnership, Dragon-Line is launching a new Dragon-Line Mobile Drip Irrigation System based on a newly developed Rivulis drip line product for this application. The system enables the transition of center pivots from sprinkler systems to mobile drip irrigation. This saves water, energy and labor while also improving soil and plant health, according to the companies. Visit www.dragonline.net.

Key Technology Introduces New Optical Sorter

Key Technology has rolled out its new Compass optical sorter suitable for processing lines handling food products including onions. Powered by next-generation inspection technology and a new sort engine, the machine is designed to accurately separate foreign material from the line, in addition to sorting the specific product defects each processor wants to manage. Compass is offered in a configurable range of system types and sizes to meet individual customer requirements. Key is first introducing chute-fed Compass models, to be followed by belt-fed variants of the sorter. Visit www.key.net. 40

Onion World • November 2023

Tong Engineers Narrower Field-Loading Machine

Tong Engineering has come out with a new, more compact version of its field-loading machine. Suitable for use on a wide range of root crops including onions, potatoes and carrots, the new FieldLoad Pro features all the same options as the flagship machine but in a narrower format. The machine includes a heavy-duty reception hopper feeding a choice of crop cleaning units including Tong’s EasyClean separator. The new FieldLoad Pro model features the standard four-man inspection cabin and a 51-inch-wide fully foldable cart elevator. Like the larger model, the new compact model can be equipped with the latest optical sorting equipment as an alternative to the standard inspection cabin. Visit https://us.tongengineering.com.

Irrigation Controller Placement Improves Pivot Performance

The new Edge Controller from T-L Irrigation Co. enables irrigators to monitor and control pivot operations remotely. With no physical control panel needed at the pivot point, the controller itself is strategically installed on the end tower, increasing accuracy and reliability of pivot function, according to the company. This move also puts the pivot water pressure sensor at the end tower, ensuring the entire system is reaching the necessary water pressure for consistent, uniform application. The Edge Controller is available for new systems and can be retrofitted to existing systems. Visit www.tlirr.com.

Utah Onion Summer Field Tour By Dan Drost, Utah State University

rowers, industry leaders and others interested in onion production gathered together on Aug. 8 for the annual Utah Onion Summer Field Tour. Events started at the Utah State University Kaysville Research Farm with introductions and opportunities to evaluate the 2023 onion variety trial. Seed lines, including 26 entries from six companies, were on display, and company representatives had the opportunity to discuss their entries. Attendees also viewed an onion biostimulant trial and heard preliminary findings on the impacts of humic acid and bacterial introductions on early onion growth from Utah State University master’s student Prakriti Nepal. At the final stop of the tour, Utah State University weed scientists Eric Westra and Corey Ransom shared tips on improving late-season weed management.

Stay ahead! From handling, cleaning and topping to grading, weighing and packing onions, we help you to stay ahead and deliver on your promises.

Utah Onion Summer Field Tour attendees assess the 2023 onion variety trial. Utah State University master’s student Prakriti Nepal outlines protocols and production aspects associated with an onion biostimulant project.

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OnionWorld.net

FROM THE NOA

The NOA is Going North — to Alaska By René Hardwick, National Onion Association Director of Public and Industry Relations

e’re telling you seven months in advance because it is that big of a deal. The National Onion Association’s (NOA) Summer 2024 Convention will be in Anchorage, Alaska. Yep, we’re going to the Last Frontier to experience the grandeur and beauty of our 49th state, so those who plan on coming should plan early. This is the land of big produce under an enhanced growing season of light nearly 20 hours a day. We’ve added a day to the convention, as well, so mark your calendars for June 25-29, 2024. Our hotel, the Sheraton Anchorage, is charging $269 a night (close to half price) and will accommodate reservations three days before until three days after the convention. The last day to reserve rooms is June 4. This is a dandy time to visit Alaska. June in Alaska is not freezing, but it’s not quite that warm yet, either. Average temperatures range

Advertiser Index Agri-Stor ...................................................... 27 Bejo ............................................................. 25 Chinook Equipment ..................................... 17 Clearwater Supply ....................................... 29 Crookham ...................................................... 9 Crookham .................................................... 17 DP Seeds ...................................................... 23 Eqraft ........................................................... 41 Fox Packaging .............................................. 18 Fox Solutions ............................................... 39 Gearmore .................................................... 44 Gowan Seed ................................................ 12 Haines .......................................................... 21 Kerian .......................................................... 23 L&M ............................................................. 13 NOA ............................................................. 17 Monosem .................................................... 12 Nunhems ..................................................... 19 Redwood Empire ......................................... 15 Seed Dynamics .............................................. 5 Seedway ...................................................... 15 Spudnik ........................................................ 29 Thorpack...................................................... 21 Top Air ........................................................... 2 Unitec .......................................................... 43 Verbruggen .................................................. 19 Volm ............................................................ 23 42

Onion World • November 2023

from 40 to 60 degrees, and there are 18 hours of daylight to keep the party going. It won’t be the most prolific in terms of onion growth, but we will visit Glacier Valley Farm in Palmer, which is a 40-minute drive north from Anchorage. Arthur Keyes, the former state director of agriculture for Alaska, runs the farm with his family and, in recent years, created his own brand of onions — Yensis. According to Keyes, “Yensis sweet onions are an heirloom Scottish onion grown in Palmer’s unique glacial soil. Palmer is the only place in the world with such a distinctive, low-sulfuric soil. The rich soil combined with the Scottish heirloom onion creates the sweetest, most pleasurable onion you will ever taste! Enjoy this Alaska-grown delight!” Keyes is not just an onion farmer (he farms other vegetables, too), he’s a farmer on a mission for sustainable agriculture. In his tenure as director of agriculture, he started the Alaska Grown $5 Challenge, an award-winning marketing program encouraging Alaskans to spend $5 a week on Alaska-grown foods, which pumped $188 million into the Alaskan economy. The program has been copied in states throughout the lower 48. Also during his tenure, Alaska led the nation in the percentage of female farmers and experienced a 30 percent growth in new farms over five years, while the national trend was a 3 percent drop. From 2012 to 2017, farmers doubled the amount of food sold to Alaskan consumers, and the number of small farms of 1-9 acres was up 73 percent. He also started the South Anchorage Farmers Market in 2006. Today, the market features more than 30 vendors, and hosts live music Saturdays and Wednesdays from May to October. Keyes joined the National Onion Association in 2020 and has been an enthusiastic and valuable ambassador for us in our visits to discuss ag policies in Washington D.C. If you attend our upcoming convention in San Antonio, Texas, (just a few weeks away on Nov. 29-Dec. 2) a representative from Visit Anchorage will be on hand to help us navigate the many things to do in this amazing state. The NOA also will raffle off a fantastic Alaskan vacation package to one lucky winner. You may want to start planning early. We guarantee the sportsmen among us want to hit the streams for some combat fishing or take a day trip to remote lakes and rivers where the fish are jumping. The day trip possibilities here are endless. Cruises will be in full swing, and Denali National Park will have just opened for the season; the Alaskan Railroad will be running from Anchorage into Talkeetna to see the most amazing mountain scenery of Denali and Denali National Park. As you might guess, the rush is on when it comes to grabbing vacation packages with outfitters up north. Whether you make a complete vacation out of it or just attend the convention, we are sure you will thoroughly enjoy the NOA’s first trip to Alaska. Check our website, www.onions-usa.org, frequently for updates and registration and hotel links.

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