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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #202507
Title: New Releases from the USDA Onion Breeding Program

Author
item Havey, Michael
item BOHANEC, BORUT - UNIV OF LJUBLJANA

Submitted to: National Allium Research Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/1/2006
Publication Date: 12/7/2006
Citation: Havey, M.J., Bohanec, B. 2006. New Releases from the USDA Onion Breeding Program [abstract]. National Allium Research Conference. Available: http://vic/tamu.edu/narc

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) onion-breeding program is under the direction of M.J. Havey, with goals to produce superior inbreds and populations, advance onion genetics and genomics, and develop molecular technologies useful in genetic improvement, and expand our understanding of onion genetics. Breeding effort is focused on development of populations, inbreds, and genetic stocks from divergent germplasms. In 2006-07, three releases will occur from the USDA program. Inbred B8667 A&B is round in shape, dark red with color extending through the internal rings, firm, with good scale retention and excellent storage quality when produced on muck soils. This inbred has a soluble-solids content of 13.4% and is relatively pungent at 10.7 'M pyruvate per ml. The A line is a BC7. The long-day onion synthetic population ‘Onion Haploid (OH)-1’ is a responsive control for programs interested in extracting gynogenic haploids of onion. Plants from the relatively responsive inbreds B2923B and B0223B were evaluated for gynogenic haploid production, and selected highly responsive plants were self-pollinated. S1 bulbs from the most responsive families were intercrossed in cages. Bulbs of this synthetic population are yellow with good storage quality, and produced on average 12 gynogenic haploids for every 100 flowers plated. All plants in OH-1 should be homozygous recessive at the male-fertility restoration (Ms) locus, although this has not been evaluated. The long-day onion synthetic population SKI-1 A&B was selected from ‘Sapporo-Ki’, an open-pollinated population grown on the Japanese island of Hoikkaido with relatively high frequencies of both S cytoplasm and dominant alleles at Ms. This synthetic combines the earliness of Sapporo-Ki with maintenance of cytoplasmic-male sterility. The cytoplasmic male-sterile A line is a BC5. Bulbs of this synthetic population are yellow, very early maturing in Wisconsin, and have good storage ability.