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Exploration of the potential of old onion landraces for organic farming (ZwiebÖL)
Project
Project code: 2819OE098
Contract period: 01.03.2020
- 28.02.2023
Budget: 279,663 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
Keywords: crop production, biological diversity, vegetable production, genetic resources, ingredients, plant genetic resources, seed and planting material, secondary crop ingredients, sensor technology, organic farming
Onions are among the popular vegetables in Germany. They are still predominantly produced conventionally whereby hybrid cultivars are almost always used. This practice limits the spectrum of available cultivars and therefore endangers biodiversity. The demand for organically produced fruit and vegetables is constantly growing but cannot be met by domestic production. One major limitation for organic onion production is the lack of suitable cultivars which is, among others, caused by the massive application of hybrid cultivars – whose use is not allowed for organic farming. The ZwiebÖL project aims at exploring the potentialities of old European onion landraces for organic farming. In a first step, a survey will be conducted to find out which onion cultivars are currently being grown in the different German regions. Afterwards, selected landraces as well as conventional reference cultivars will be grown organically in two field trials on two sites in two consecutive years. After harvest, cold storage will be performed for up to 9 months. The evaluation of the cultivars will be done based on yield stability, inner and outer quality parameters, storability and sensory properties. Furthermore, the fresh and the stored bulbs will be comprehensively analysed using targeted and untargeted GC-MS and LC-MS methods to determine the profiles of volatile and non-volatile compounds in onions. The resulting data basis will be used to select onion cultivars which are suitable for organic farming at the specific conditions of different sites or regions. At the same time, possible ways for a bioeconomic exploitation of the cultivars shall be pointed out. Already during the project duration, knowledge transfer toward the organic farming community will begin in order facilitate the optimized use of onion landraces for organic production.
Section overview
Subjects
- Plant Breeding
- Vegetable Gardening
- Genetic Resources
Framework programme
Federal Organic Farming Scheme and other forms of sustainable agriculture (BÖLN)
