ONION GENETIC IMPROVEMENT

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: TERMINATED
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0217588
• Project No.: NM-CRAMER-09H
• Project Start Date: Apr 1, 2009
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2013

Project Director
Cramer, C.

Recipient Organization
NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY
1620 STANDLEY DR ACADEMIC RESH A RM 110
LAS CRUCES,NM 88003-1239

Performing Department
Plant and Environmental Sciences

Non Technical Summary
The New Mexico onion industry is economically significant and is highly competitive. The industry has a recent history of expansion, and the potential exists for further expansion. Further development and release of high-yielding, high-quality, well-adapted, bolting-resistant, disease-resistant, short-, intermediate- and long-day onion open-pollinated and hybrid cultivars with varying maturities and scale colors will support industry growth in New Mexico. Genetic improvement in bolting resistance, disease resistance, bulb firmness, and bulb quality traits also will facilitate further expansion, and add significantly to New Mexico economic development.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
201	1451	1081	20%
202	1451	1081	20%
203	1451	1081	20%
204	1451	1081	20%
212	1451	1081	20%

Knowledge Area
202 - Plant Genetic Resources; 204 - Plant Product Quality and Utility (Preharvest); 203 - Plant Biological Efficiency and Abiotic Stresses Affecting Plants; 212 - Pathogens and Nematodes Affecting Plants; 201 - Plant Genome, Genetics, and Genetic Mechanisms;

Subject Of Investigation
1451 - Onion, garlic, leek, shallot;

Field Of Science
1081 - Breeding;

Keywords

onions

allium

plant breeding

heritability

plant genetics

plant improvement

bolting

cold hardiness

plant disease resistance

bulbs

crop quality

crop yields

maturity

pungency

soluble compounds

basal rot

fusarium

breeding lines

open pollination

fungus diseases (plants)

stress tolerance

pre harvest

Goals / Objectives
This project has the following objectives: 1) Continued development of high-yielding, high-quality, well-adapted, bolting-resistant, disease-resistant, short-, intermediate- and long-day onion cultivars with varying maturities and scale colors for production in New Mexico; 2) Evaluation of screening methods for FBR resistance progress and better understanding of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cepae isolate morphology; 3) Screening of onion germplasm for IYSV resistance, improvements in screening methods, and correlation between IYSV titer and symptom expression.

Project Methods
Breeding lines will be screened for disease and bolting resistance, bulb yield and quality, maturity dates, and bulb color. Lines will be screened at maturity for resistance to pink root and Fusarium basal rot using natural inoculum levels found in infested fields. Highly-susceptible cultivars to both diseases will be sown in selection fields to provide a measure of year-to-year variability in disease incidence. Autumn-sown onion cultivars must be planted late enough to prevent the production of unmarketable bulbs that produce seedstalks in the following spring. Artificial inoculation of mature bulbs, field screening of mature bulbs using natural inoculum levels, and seedling screening method will be compared for the amount of progress for FBR resistance. Seven autumn-sown cultivars will be planted in fields naturally-infested with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cepae (FOC). For each cultivar, selection for FBR resistance has been accomplished for one generation using each of the three methods mentioned above. In addition, the three versions of each cultivar will be compared to the original version of the cultivar prior to the use of above-mentioned selection methods. Four versions of all cultivars will be sown in a replicated trial with four replications per entry. Each cultivar will be treated as a separate experiment with plots from each cultivar kept separate in the field. With respect to Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV), our program will continue to screen onion germplasm for resistance/tolerance, work on improving our screening procedure, and ascertain the relationship between symptom expression and virus titer. In the early spring, seed of onion entries will be sown in a field at the Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center in Las Cruces, NM. The entries will consist of short-, intermediate-, and long-day experimental breeding lines from the New Mexico State University breeding program. In addition, all commercial germplasm and plant introductions with reduced amounts of cuticular waxes will be screened. In addition, commercially-acceptable intermediate and long-day type bulb onions from different market classes (i.e., yellow, white, and/or red; green, blue-green and/or blue leaf color) with varying levels of resistance to IYSV and tolerance to thrips feeding injury and/or lower preference for thrips will be included in the evaluation. One or more commercial cultivar checks per color class will also be included.

Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience for this research is the numerous individuals and companies involved in the New Mexico onion industry. These interested parties include growers, shippers, handlers, brokers, dealers, and salespersons. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Training of graduate and undergraduate students with regards to thrips counting, Iris yellow spot disease severity rating, plant sample collection, sample preparation for ELISA, ELISA analysis, statistical analysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? On July 16, 2013, a field day was held to demonstrate the activities of the New Mexico State University onion breeding program. A presentation was given on the work being conducted to develop thrips and Iris yellow spot resistant cultivars. Another presentation was given on the work being conducted to develop FBR-resistant cultivars. A presentation regarding the breeding work being done by the NMSU onion breeding program was made to the New Mexico Dry Onion Commission on March 12, 2013. The following presentation was made at the 2013 Joint Annual Meeting of the Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee and National Association of Plant Breeders on June 2-5, 2013 in Tampa, FL: Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion germplasm after one selection cycle. The following presentations were made at the 2013 Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science in Palm Desert, CA on July 22-25, 2013: Measuring selection progress in onion germplasm after one selection cycle for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression; and Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion. A presentation on “Breeding for resistance to Iris yellow spot in onion” was made to the joint meeting of the Hazera Genetics and Nickerson-Zwaan Onion Research Teams in Visalia, CA on July 30, 2013. Cramer, C.S. and M.E. Bartolo. 2013. Varietal reviews, pp. 12-14. In: Onion Health Management and Production. H.F. Schwartz (Ed.), Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO, 104 pp. Bartolo, M.E., C.S. Cramer, and D. Drost. 2013. Planting and post-planting, pp. 15-17. In: Onion Health Management and Production. H.F. Schwartz (Ed.), Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO, 104 pp. Bartolo, M.E., C.S. Cramer, and D. Drost. 2013. Other cultural practices, p. 18. In: Onion Health Management and Production. H.F. Schwartz (Ed.), Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO, 104 pp. Bartolo, M.E., C.S. Cramer, and D. Drost. 2013. Harvest and post-harvest procedures, pp. 22-24. In: Onion Health Management and Production. H.F. Schwartz (Ed.), Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO, 104 pp. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Germplasm was identified that possessed a reduced number of thrips per plant than most entries. Entries were identified that exhibited less severe IYS disease symptoms than most entries. Selection for reduced thrips number and IYS disease severity appears to be effective. Additional cycles of selection may be beneficial for increasing tolerance to thrips and/or IYS. The onion industry in New Mexico and the United States is valued at farm gate annually at 50-60 million dollars and 900-1,000 million dollars, respectively. The potential impacts of this study are the offsets of yield reduction caused by IYS and onion thrips and the cost of chemical control of thrips. The potential economic impacts of this research could be 10-15% of the current farm-gate value that is estimated to be lost due to injury from IYS and onion thrips. In addition, the cost of chemical control of thrips, that is estimated at 7.5-12 million dollars, could be saved with the availability of a thrips-tolerant onion cultivar. Open-pollinated, male-sterile, maintainer, and pollinator breeding lines were screened for disease resistance, bulb yield, bulb quality, maturity date, and bulb color. Promising breeding and hybrid lines and released cultivars were compared to commercial cultivars and experimental lines using variety trials. Two cultivars, ‘NuMex Grandeur’ and ‘NuMex Whisper’, were released. ‘NuMex Grandeur’ is an open-pollinated, late-maturing, intermediate-day, cultivar with red-colored dry outer scales. It matures in late July to mid August when winter-sown in southern New Mexico. This cultivar will satisfy a need for a red onion cultivar that matures at this time. ‘NuMex Whisper’ is an open-pollinated, highly single-centered, late-maturing, intermediate-day cultivar with yellow-colored dry outer scales. It matures in mid June to early July when autumn-sown in southern New Mexico. Eighty-eight onion breeding lines selected for reduced Iris yellow spot (IYS) disease symptom expression, 7 plant introduction (PI) accessions from the U.S. germplasm collection, 8 experimental breeding lines from the New Mexico State University (NMSU) breeding program, and 3 commercial cultivars were evaluated for the number of thrips per plant and IYS disease symptoms. Adult and juvenile onion thrips number per plant was highest at 13 and 16 weeks post transplanting. Among those breeding lines selected for reduced IYS symptom expression, plants of 33, 37, and 25 lines possessed fewer thrips at 10, 13, and 16 weeks after transplanting, respectively, than plants of the susceptible checks, ‘Rumba’ and ‘Vaquero’. For those lines that were selected from PI 172703, plants of seven second generation lines had fewer thrips that plants of PI 172703 when thrips were counted at 10 weeks. At 13 weeks, plants of nine second generation lines has fewer thrips per plants than plants of PI 172703. For those lines that were selected from PI 546140, plants of NMSU 12-295 had fewer thrips than plants of PI 546140 when thrips were counted at 10 weeks. Among those breeding lines selected for reduced IYS symptom expression, plants of 13 lines exhibited less severe IYS disease symptoms than plants of the susceptible checks, ‘Rumba’ and ‘Vaquero’ at 13 and 16 weeks after transplanting. At 13 and 16 weeks, plants of second generation lines, NMSU 12-335, and 12-342, exhibited less severe disease symptoms than plants of their parental lines, NMSU 07-32-2 and 07-56-2, respectively. At 13 weeks, plants of NMSU 12-236 exhibited a lower disease severity than plants of its parental line, NMSU 07-52-1. At 16 weeks, plants of second generation lines, NMSU 12-239 and 12-243, exhibited less severe disease symptoms than plants of their parental line, NMSU 07-53-1. In addition, plants of NMSU 12-285 exhibited less severe disease symptoms than plants of its parental lines, PI 289689. At 19 weeks, plants of NMSU 12-335 and 12-243 exhibited less severe disease symptoms than plants of their parental lines, NMSU 07-32-2 and 07-53-1. Eleven selected lines exhibited a lower IYS disease incidence than the susceptible checks, ‘Rumba’ and ‘Vaquero’ at 13 weeks after transplanting. Selected lines, NMSU 12-236 and 12-335, exhibited a lower disease incidence percentage than their parental lines, NMSU 07-52-1 and 07-32-2, respectively. By 16 weeks, disease incidence had reached 100% for all entries.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and N. Kamal. 2013. Measuring selection progress in onion germplasm after one selection cycle for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression. HortScience 48:S363. (Abstr.)
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Singh, N. and C.S. Cramer. 2013. Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion. HortScience 48:S364. (Abstr.)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Singh, N. 2013. Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion. M.S. Thesis, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and N. Kamal. 2013. Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion germplasm after one selection cycle. 2013 Joint Annual Meeting of the Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee and National Association of Plant Breeders. June 2-5, 2013. Tampa, FL. p. 26.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Saxena, A. and C.S. Cramer. 2013. Metabolomics: A potential tool for breeding nutraceutical vegetables. Adv. Crop Sci. Tech. 1:106. doi:10.4172/ acst.1000106.

Progress 04/01/09 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience for this research is the numerous individuals and companies involved in the New Mexico onion industry. These interested parties include growers, shippers, handlers, brokers, dealers, and salespersons. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Training of graduate and undergraduate students with regards to thrips counting, Iris yellow spot disease severity rating, plant sample collection, sample preparation for ELISA, ELISA analysis, statistical analysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Each year, field days were held to demonstrate the activities of the New Mexico State University onion breeding program. Presentations were given on the work being conducted to develop thrips and Iris yellow spot resistant cultivars. Additional presentations were given on the work being conducted to develop FBR-resistant cultivars. Each year, a presentation regarding the breeding work being done by the NMSU onion breeding program was made to the New Mexico Dry Onion Commission. The following presentation was made at the 2013 Joint Annual Meeting of the Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee and National Association of Plant Breeders on June 2-5, 2013 in Tampa, FL: Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion germplasm after one selection cycle. The following presentations were made at the 2013 Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science in Palm Desert, CA on July 22-25, 2013: Measuring selection progress in onion germplasm after one selection cycle for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression; and Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion. A presentation on “Breeding for resistance to Iris yellow spot in onion” was made to the joint meeting of the Hazera Genetics and Nickerson-Zwaan Onion Research Teams in Visalia, CA on July 30, 2013. Each year, field days were held to demonstrate the activities of the New Mexico State University onion breeding program. Presentations were given on the work being conducted to develop thrips and Iris yellow spot resistant cultivars. Additional presentations were given on the work being conducted to develop FBR-resistant cultivars. Each year, a presentation regarding the breeding work being done by the NMSU onion breeding program was made to the New Mexico Dry Onion Commission. The following presentation was made at the 2013 Joint Annual Meeting of the Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee and National Association of Plant Breeders on June 2-5, 2013 in Tampa, FL: Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion germplasm after one selection cycle. The following presentations were made at the 2013 Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science in Palm Desert, CA on July 22-25, 2013: Measuring selection progress in onion germplasm after one selection cycle for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression; and Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion. A presentation on “Breeding for resistance to Iris yellow spot in onion” was made to the joint meeting of the Hazera Genetics and Nickerson-Zwaan Onion Research Teams in Visalia, CA on July 30, 2013. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Germplasm was identified that possessed a reduced number of thrips per plant than most entries. Entries were identified that exhibited less severe IYS disease symptoms than most entries. Selection for reduced thrips number and IYS disease severity appears to be effective. Additional cycles of selection may be beneficial for increasing tolerance to thrips and/or IYS. The onion industry in New Mexico and the United States is valued at farm gate annually at 50-60 million dollars and 900-1,000 million dollars, respectively. The potential impacts of this study are the offsets of yield reduction caused by IYS and onion thrips and the cost of chemical control of thrips. The potential economic impacts of this research could be 10-15% of the current farm-gate value that is estimated to be lost due to injury from IYS and onion thrips. In addition, the cost of chemical control of thrips, that is estimated at 7.5-12 million dollars, could be saved with the availability of a thrips-tolerant onion cultivar. Open-pollinated, male-sterile, maintainer, and pollinator breeding lines were screened for disease resistance, bulb yield, bulb quality, maturity date, and bulb color. Promising breeding and hybrid lines and released cultivars were compared to commercial cultivars and experimental lines using variety trials. Three cultivars, ‘NuMex Grandeur’, ‘NuMex Serenade’, and ‘NuMex Whisper’, were released. ‘NuMex Grandeur’ is an open-pollinated, late-maturing, intermediate-day, cultivar with red-colored dry outer scales. It matures in late July to mid August when winter-sown in southern New Mexico. This cultivar will satisfy a need for a red onion cultivar that matures at this time. ‘NuMex Whisper’ is an open-pollinated, highly single-centered, late-maturing, intermediate-day cultivar with yellow-colored dry outer scales. It matures in mid June to early July when autumn-sown in southern New Mexico. Eighty-eight onion breeding lines selected for reduced Iris yellow spot (IYS) disease symptom expression, 7 plant introduction (PI) accessions from the U.S. germplasm collection, 8 experimental breeding lines from the New Mexico State University (NMSU) breeding program, and 3 commercial cultivars were evaluated for the number of thrips per plant and IYS disease symptoms. Adult and juvenile onion thrips number per plant was highest at 13 and 16 weeks post transplanting. Among those breeding lines selected for reduced IYS symptom expression, plants of 33, 37, and 25 lines possessed fewer thrips at 10, 13, and 16 weeks after transplanting, respectively, than plants of the susceptible checks, ‘Rumba’ and ‘Vaquero’. For those lines that were selected from PI 172703, plants of seven second generation lines had fewer thrips that plants of PI 172703 when thrips were counted at 10 weeks. At 13 weeks, plants of nine second generation lines has fewer thrips per plants than plants of PI 172703. For those lines that were selected from PI 546140, plants of NMSU 12-295 had fewer thrips than plants of PI 546140 when thrips were counted at 10 weeks. Among those breeding lines selected for reduced IYS symptom expression, plants of 13 lines exhibited less severe IYS disease symptoms than plants of the susceptible checks, ‘Rumba’ and ‘Vaquero’ at 13 and 16 weeks after transplanting. At 13 and 16 weeks, plants of second generation lines, NMSU 12-335, and 12-342, exhibited less severe disease symptoms than plants of their parental lines, NMSU 07-32-2 and 07-56-2, respectively. At 13 weeks, plants of NMSU 12-236 exhibited a lower disease severity than plants of its parental line, NMSU 07-52-1. At 16 weeks, plants of second generation lines, NMSU 12-239 and 12-243, exhibited less severe disease symptoms than plants of their parental line, NMSU 07-53-1. In addition, plants of NMSU 12-285 exhibited less severe disease symptoms than plants of its parental lines, PI 289689. At 19 weeks, plants of NMSU 12-335 and 12-243 exhibited less severe disease symptoms than plants of their parental lines, NMSU 07-32-2 and 07-53-1. Eleven selected lines exhibited a lower IYS disease incidence than the susceptible checks, ‘Rumba’ and ‘Vaquero’ at 13 weeks after transplanting. Selected lines, NMSU 12-236 and 12-335, exhibited a lower disease incidence percentage than their parental lines, NMSU 07-52-1 and 07-32-2, respectively. By 16 weeks, disease incidence had reached 100% for all entries.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and N. Kamal. 2013. Measuring selection progress in onion germplasm after one selection cycle for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression. HortScience 48:S363. (Abstr.)
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Singh, N. and C.S. Cramer. 2013. Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion. HortScience 48:S364. (Abstr.)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Singh, N. 2013. Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion. M.S. Thesis, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and N. Kamal. 2013. Selection progress for reduced Iris yellow spot symptom expression in onion germplasm after one selection cycle. 2013 Joint Annual Meeting of the Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee and National Association of Plant Breeders. June 2-5, 2013. Tampa, FL. p. 26.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Saxena, A. and C.S. Cramer. 2013. Metabolomics: A potential tool for breeding nutraceutical vegetables. Adv. Crop Sci. Tech. 1:106. doi:10.4172/ acst.1000106.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and J.N. Corgan. 2012. NuMex Fabian Garcia onion. HortScience 47:1369-1371.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Kamal, N., A. Saxena, R.L. Steiner, and C.S. Cramer. 2012. Screening of New Mexico autumn-sown onions for black mold disease. HortTechnology 22:719-723.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and A. Saxena. 2012. Selection progress for Fusarium basal rot resistance of onions using a seedling screening procedure, pp. 100-109. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Cramer, C.S., M. Mohseni-Moghadam, R.J. Creamer, and R.L. Steiner. 2012. Screening winter-sown entries for Iris yellow spot disease susceptibility, p. 80-99. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Cramer, C.S., S. Bag, H.F. Schwartz, and H.R. Pappu. 2011. Susceptibility of onion relatives (Allium spp) to Iris yellow spot virus. Plant Disease 95:1319.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Kisha, T. and C.S. Cramer. 2011. Determining redundancy of short-day, onion accessions in a germplasm collection using microsatellite and TRAP markers. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 136:129-134.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Mohseni-Moghadam, M, C.S. Cramer, R.L. Steiner, and R. Creamer. 2011. Evaluating winter-sown onion entries for Iris yellow spot virus susceptibility. HortScience 46:1224-1229.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and J.N. Corgan. 2010. NuMex Serenade onion. HortScience 45:1889-1892.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2009 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and J.N. Corgan. 2009. NuMex Radiance onion. HortScience 44:820-823.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2009 Citation: Larsen, T., A. Saxena, and C.S. Cramer. 2009. Relatedness of bulb firmness to other attributes of New Mexico onion entries. Inter. J. Veg. Sci. 15:206-217.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2009 Citation: Multani, P.S., C.S. Cramer, R.L. Steiner, and R. Creamer. 2009. Screening winter-sown onion entries for Iris yellow spot virus tolerance. HortScience 44:627-632.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2009 Citation: Saxena, A. and C.S. Cramer. 2009. Screening of onion seedlings for resistance against New Mexico isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cepae. J. Plant Pathology 91:199-202.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and A. Saxena. 2012. Selection progress for Fusarium basal rot resistance of onions using a seedling screening procedure, p. 40. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Cramer, C.S., M. Mohseni-Moghadam, R.J. Creamer, and R.L. Steiner. 2012. Screening winter-sown entries for Iris yellow spot disease susceptibility, p. 39. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Cramer, C.S., R. Muhyi, M. Mohseni-Moghadam, N. Kamal, and N. Singh. 2012. Eight years of screening for Iris yellow spot resistance, p. 31. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Havey, M.J., C.S. Cramer, H.R. Pappu, H.F. Schwartz, A. Chan, and C. Town. 2012. USDA-SCRI funded project Ensuring US onion sustainability: Breeding and genomics to control thrips and Iris yellow spot virus, p. 32. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Kamal, N. and C.S. Cramer. 2012. Selection progress for thrips and Iris yellow spot virus resistance in onion germplasm after one selection cycle, p. 47. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2010. Progress toward developing onion cultivars tolerant to Iris yellow spot virus. Oral Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 104-105.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2010. Screening of onion plant introduction accessions for Iris yellow spot disease severity. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 41-42.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2010. Screening of onion plant introduction accessions for Iris yellow spot disease severity. 4th Annual Plant Breeding Workshop. Annual Meetings of the Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee and National Association of Plant Breeders. Aug. 15-17, 2010. Johnston, IA. p. 32.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2010. Screening of onion plant introduction accessions for Iris yellow spot disease severity. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2010. Variation in onion thrips number per plant among onion plant introduction accessions. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 42.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2010. Variation in onion thrips number per plant among onion plant introduction accessions. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy of current and collected short-day onion accessions. Oral Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 104.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy of current and collected White Grano onion accessions. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 156.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy of current and collected White Grano onion accessions. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy of current and collected Yellow Grano onion accessions. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 126.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy of current and collected Yellow Grano onion accessions. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy within six groups of current and collected short-day onion accessions. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 126.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy within six groups of current and collected short-day onion accessions. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Kisha, T. J. and C.S. Cramer. 2010. Determining redundancy of short-day onion (Allium cepa L. var. cepa) accessions in a germplasm collection. Oral Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 104.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Saxena, A., Cramer, C.S., Steiner, R., and R. Sanderson. 2010. Spatial distribution of Fusarium basal rot and its causal agent in New Mexico onion fields. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Uchanski, M.E. and C.S. Cramer. 2012. The history of onions in New Mexico, p. 27. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Uchanski, M.E. and C.S. Cramer. 2012. Pest monitoring in New Mexico commercial onion fields, p. 41. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2011. Genetic relatedness among entries within short-day onion germplasm. HortScience 46:S204. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2011. Evaluation of onion plant introduction accessions for leaf characteristics, onion thrips number per plant, and Iris yellow spot disease severity. HortScience 46:S280. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2011. In search of onion germplasm tolerant to Iris yellow spot virus. HortScience 46:S281. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2011. (SCRI-3) Evaluation of onion plant introduction accessions for leaf characteristics, onion thrips number per plant, and Iris yellow spot disease severity. HortScience 46:S294. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Cramer, C.S. Cramer, C.S. 2011. In search of onion germplasm tolerant to Iris yellow spot virus. 5th Annual Plant Breeding Workshop. Annual Meetings of the Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee and National Association of Plant Breeders. May 23-25, 2011. College Station, TX. p. 13.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Bag, S., C. Cramer, H.F. Schwartz, and H.R. Pappu. 2010. Biological characterization of distinct strains of Iris yellow spot virus. Australasian Plant Virology Workshop. Nov. 16-19, 2010, Melbourne, Australia. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Singh, N. and C.S. Cramer. 2012. Selection progress for tolerance to Iris yellow spot virus in onions, p. 43. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2010. Evaluation of onion plant introduction accessions for leaf characteristics. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 42.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Cramer, C.S. 2010. Evaluation of onion plant introduction accessions for leaf characteristics. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)

Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Open-pollinated, male-sterile, maintainer, and pollinator breeding lines were screened for disease resistance, bulb yield, bulb quality, maturity date, and bulb color. Promising breeding and hybrid lines and released cultivars were compared to commercial cultivars and experimental lines using variety trials. Eighty-two onion breeding lines selected for Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) tolerance, 18 plant introduction (PI) accessions from the U.S. germplasm collection, 11 experimental breeding lines from the New Mexico State University (NMSU) breeding program, and 9 commercial cultivars were evaluated for the number of thrips per plant, leaf color, leaf waxiness, Iris yellow spot (IYS) disease symptoms, and bulb yield. Adult and juvenile onion thrips number per plant was highest at 12 and 15 weeks post transplanting. Among those breeding lines selected for IYSV tolerance, plants of NMSU 10-577-1, 10-591-1, 10-593-1, 10-628-1, and 10-646-1 possessed fewer thrips at 12 and 15 weeks than plants of the susceptible check, Rumba. In addition, plants of PIs 172702, 172703, 239633, 258956, and 264320 also had fewer thrips than plants of Rumba. Plants of 27 selected lines and 7 PI accessions were rated as having light to dark green leaf color. With regards to leaf waxiness, plants of 26 selected lines and 6 PI accessions were rated as having semi-glossy to glossy leaves. Plants of NMSU 10-591-1 and 10-593-1 exhibited a lower IYS disease severity at 12, 14, 16, and 18 weeks post transplanting than plants of Rumba. Plants of NMSU 10-575-1, 10-577-1, 10-582-1, 10-646-1, PI 239633, and PI 258956 exhibited a lower IYS disease severity at 14, 16, and 18 weeks than plants of Rumba. In addition, plants of NMSU 10-592-1 and 10-596-1 when evaluated at 14 weeks and plants of NMSU 10-589-1 and 10-629-1 when evaluated at 18 weeks exhibited less severe disease symptoms than plants of Rumba evaluated at those same dates. Plants of NMSU 10-591-1 exhibited no disease symptoms at 12 weeks that was lower than the disease incidence of plants of Rumba. At 14 weeks post transplanting, plants of NMSU 10-575-1, 10-593-1, 10-596-1, and 10-629-1 exhibited a lower disease incidence than plants of Rumba. NMSU 10-592-1, 10-593-1, 10-620-1, 10-632-1, 10-643-1, and PI 239633 exhibited a colossal market class bulb yield that was greater than the yield of other entries. With regards to jumbo bulb yield, NMSU 10-607-1, 10-632-1, 10-643-1, 10-646-1, 10-658-1, 10-708, and PI 264320 exhibited a jumbo bulb yield that was greater than the yield of other entries. Individual plants, that exhibited few IYS disease symptoms, were selected at bulb maturity from 45 different selected lines, 7 NMSU experimental breeding lines, and 6 PI accessions for a total of 169 bulbs. Seed was produced from 59 unique selections made in the previous year. These lines have received two cycles of selection for resistance to IYS. Progress for resistance to IYS in these lines will be determined this coming year. Seed of numerous first generation selection lines was produced this year so that seed could be distributed to the onion seed industry for evaluation. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The New Mexico onion industry is economically significant and is highly competitive. The industry has a recent history of expansion, and the potential exists for further expansion. Further development and release of high-yielding, high-quality, well-adapted, bolting-resistant, disease-resistant, short-, intermediate-, and long-day onion open-pollinated and hybrid cultivars with varying maturities and scale colors, and improved bulb quality will support industry growth in New Mexico. Genetic improvement in bolting resistance, disease resistance, and bulb quality also will facilitate further expansion and add significantly to New Mexico's economic development. Identification of verifiable sources of Iris yellow spot virus tolerance and/or resistance would lead to the development of tolerant/resistant cultivars and reduced disease impact on onion yield throughout the western United States.

Publications

• Cramer, C.S., and A. Saxena. 2012. Selection progress for Fusarium basal rot resistance of onions using a seedling screening procedure, p. 40. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S., and A. Saxena. 2012. Selection progress for Fusarium basal rot resistance of onions using a seedling screening procedure, pp. 100-109. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM.
• Cramer, C.S. and J.N. Corgan. 2012. 'NuMex Fabian Garcia' onion. HortScience 47:1369-1371.
• Cramer, C.S. and J.N. Corgan. 2012. 'NuMex Fabian Garcia' onion. NM Agric. Expt Stn Rel. Not, 11 pp.
• Cramer, C.S., M. Mohseni-Moghadam, R.J. Creamer, and R.L. Steiner. 2012. Screening winter-sown entries for Iris yellow spot disease susceptibility, p. 39. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S., M. Mohseni-Moghadam, R.J. Creamer, and R.L. Steiner. 2012. Screening winter-sown entries for Iris yellow spot disease susceptibility, p. 80-99. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM.
• Cramer, C.S., R. Muhyi, M. Mohseni-Moghadam, N. Kamal, and N. Singh. 2012. Eight years of screening for Iris yellow spot resistance, p. 31. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Havey, M.J., C.S. Cramer, H.R. Pappu, H.F. Schwartz, A. Chan, and C. Town. 2012. USDA-SCRI funded project "Ensuring US onion sustainability: Breeding and genomics to control thrips and Iris yellow spot virus", p. 32. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Uchanski, M.E. and C.S. Cramer. 2012. The history of onions in New Mexico, p. 27. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Uchanski, M.E. and C.S. Cramer. 2012. Pest monitoring in New Mexico commercial onion fields, p. 41. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Kamal, N. and C.S. Cramer. 2012. Selection progress for thrips and Iris yellow spot virus resistance in onion germplasm after one selection cycle, p. 47. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)
• Kamal, N., A. Saxena, R.L. Steiner, and C.S. Cramer. 2012. Screening of New Mexico autumn-sown onions for black mold disease. HortTechnology 22:719-723.
• Singh, N. and C.S. Cramer. 2012. Selection progress for tolerance to Iris yellow spot virus in onions, p. 43. In: Proc. 2012 Natl. Allium Res. Conf. S. Walker and C.S. Cramer (Eds.), Las Cruces, NM. (Abstr.)

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Open-pollinated, male-sterile, maintainer, and pollinator breeding lines were screened for disease resistance, bolting resistance, bulb yield, bulb quality, maturity dates, and bulb color. Promising breeding lines and released cultivars were compared to commercial cultivars and experimental lines using variety trials. Hybrid lines were evaluated for disease resistance, bulb yield, and bulb quality. Eighty-eight onion breeding lines selected for IYSV tolerance, 25 plant introduction (PI) accessions from the U.S. germplasm collection, 11 experimental breeding lines from the NMSU breeding program, 10 commercial cultivars, and 12 experimental commercial breeding lines were evaluated for the number of thrips per plant, leaf color, leaf waxiness, Iris yellow spot disease symptoms, and bulb yield using a field screening method. For those entries tested as transplants, adult and juvenile onion thrips number per plant was highest at 9 weeks post transplanting while the number decreased afterwards up to 15 weeks. Among those breeding lines selected for IYSV tolerance, 7 selected lines averaged less than 25 thrips at 9 weeks that was less than the susceptible check, Rumba. In addition to these selected lines, 22 additional selected lines and 19 PIs had fewer thrips/plant than Rumba. PIs 344392 and 289689 also had less than 25 thrips. At 12 weeks, 46 selected lines and 17 PIs had fewer thrips than Rumba. Eleven selected lines, PI 289689, and PI 391509 averaged less than 13 thrips/plant. At 15 weeks, 43 entries averaged fewer thrips than Rumba. Of these entries, 19 selected lines and 3 PIs averaged less than 9 thrips/plant. For those entries sown directly in the field, thrips number/plant remained unchanged from 13 to 21 weeks. At 13 weeks, 26 entries averaged fewer thrips/plant than plants of Rumba. Of those entries, plants of 3 selected lines averaged less than 6 thrips/plant. At 21 weeks, 5 entries averaged fewer thrips/plant than Rumba. Of those entries tested, 102 entries were rated as having light to dark green leaf color. With regards to leaf waxiness, 51 entries were rated as having semi-glossy to glossy leaves. Plants of 12 selected lines possessed glossy foliage that was light green in color. For those entries tested as transplants, 3 selected lines exhibited a lower IYS disease severity and 2 lines had a lower disease incidence at 12 weeks than Rumba. At 14 weeks, 20 entries exhibited a lower disease severity while 3 entries exhibited a lower disease incidence than Rumba. At 18 weeks, 25 entries exhibited a lower disease severity than Rumba. For those entries sown directly in the field, 32 entries exhibited a lower disease severity and 9 entries exhibited a lower disease incidence at 21 weeks than Rumba. At 23 weeks, 23 entries exhibited a lower disease severity while 9 entries exhibited a lower disease incidence than Rumba. Individual plants, that exhibited few IYS symptoms, were selected at bulb maturity from 43 selected lines, 11 NMSU experimental breeding lines, 3 commercial cultivars, and 2 PI accessions for a total of 520 bulbs. These bulbs are being pollinated in the hopes of finding progeny that possess a higher level of IYS tolerance. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The New Mexico onion industry is economically significant and is highly competitive. The industry has a recent history of expansion, and the potential exists for further expansion. Further development and release of high-yielding, high-quality, well-adapted, bolting-resistant, disease-resistant, short-, intermediate-, and long-day onion open-pollinated and hybrid cultivars with varying maturities and scale colors, and improved bulb quality will support industry growth in New Mexico. Genetic improvement in bolting resistance, disease resistance, and bulb quality also will facilitate further expansion and add significantly to New Mexico's economic development. Identification of verifiable sources of Iris yellow spot virus tolerance and/or resistance would lead to the development of tolerant/resistant cultivars and reduced disease impact on onion yield throughout the western United States.

Publications

• Cramer, C.S. 2011. Genetic relatedness among entries within short-day onion germplasm. HortScience 46:S204. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S. 2011. Evaluation of onion plant introduction accessions for leaf characteristics, onion thrips number per plant, and Iris yellow spot disease severity. HortScience 46:S280. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S. 2011. In search of onion germplasm tolerant to Iris yellow spot virus. HortScience 46:S281. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S. 2011. (SCRI-3) Evaluation of onion plant introduction accessions for leaf characteristics, onion thrips number per plant, and Iris yellow spot disease severity. HortScience 46:S294. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S. 2011. In search of onion germplasm tolerant to Iris yellow spot virus. 5th Annual Plant Breeding Workshop. Annual Meetings of the Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee and National Association of Plant Breeders. May 23-25, 2011. College Station, TX. p. 13.
• Cramer, C.S., S. Bag, H.F. Schwartz, and H.R. Pappu. 2011. Susceptibility of onion relatives (Allium spp) to Iris yellow spot virus. Plant Disease 95:1319.
• Kisha, T. and C.S. Cramer. 2011. Determining redundancy of short-day, onion accessions in a germplasm collection using microsatellite and TRAP markers. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 136:129-134.
• Mohseni-Moghadam, M, C.S. Cramer, R.L. Steiner, and R. Creamer. 2011. Evaluating winter-sown onion entries for Iris yellow spot virus susceptibility. HortScience 46:1224-1229.

Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Open-pollinated, male-sterile, maintainer, and pollinator breeding lines were screened for disease resistance, bolting resistance, bulb yield, bulb quality, maturity dates, and bulb color. Promising breeding lines and released cultivars were compared to commercial cultivars and experimental lines using variety trials. Hybrid lines were evaluated for disease resistance, bulb yield, and bulb quality. Three screening methods for developing FBR resistance were evaluated using progeny that resulted from this screening. Intermediate- and long day onion germplasms were screened from resistance/tolerance to IYSV. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The New Mexico onion industry is economically significant and is highly competitive. The industry has a recent history of expansion, and the potential exists for further expansion. Further development and release of high-yielding, high-quality, well-adapted, bolting-resistant, disease-resistant, short-, intermediate-, and long-day onion open-pollinated and hybrid cultivars with varying maturities and scale colors, and improved bulb quality will support industry growth in New Mexico. Genetic improvement in bolting resistance, disease resistance, and bulb quality also will facilitate further expansion and add significantly to New Mexico's economic development. Identification of verifiable sources of Iris yellow spot virus tolerance and/or resistance would lead to the development of tolerant/resistant cultivars and reduced disease impact on onion yield throughout the western United States.

Publications

• Mohseni Moghadam, M. 2010. Screening onion entries for Iris yellow spot virus resistance. M.S. Thesis. New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM, 260 pp - May. 2010.
• Gibson, R. 2010. Determining redundancy of current and collected short-day, onion accessions. M.S. Thesis. New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM, 160 pp - Dec. 2010.
• Cramer, C.S. 2010. Evaluation of onion plant introduction accessions for leaf characteristics. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 42.
• Cramer, C.S. 2010. Evaluation of onion plant introduction accessions for leaf characteristics. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S. 2010. NuMex Serenade onion. PVP certificate 201000252. Plant Variety Protection Office, USDA.
• Cramer, C.S. 2010. Progress toward developing onion cultivars tolerant to Iris yellow spot virus. Oral Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 104-105.
• Cramer, C.S. 2010. Screening of onion plant introduction accessions for Iris yellow spot disease severity. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S. 2010. Variation in onion thrips number per plant among onion plant introduction accessions. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 42.
• Cramer, C.S. 2010. Variation in onion thrips number per plant among onion plant introduction accessions. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy of current and collected short-day onion accessions. Oral Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 104.
• Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy of current and collected 'White Grano' onion accessions. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 156.
• Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy of current and collected 'White Grano' onion accessions. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy of current and collected 'Yellow Grano' onion accessions. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 126.
• Cramer, C.S. 2010. Screening of onion plant introduction accessions for Iris yellow spot disease severity. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 41-42.
• Cramer, C.S. 2010. Screening of onion plant introduction accessions for Iris yellow spot disease severity. 4th Annual Plant Breeding Workshop. Annual Meetings of the Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee and National Association of Plant Breeders. Aug. 15-17, 2010. Johnston, IA. p. 32.
• Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy of current and collected 'Yellow Grano' onion accessions. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy within six groups of current and collected short-day onion accessions. Poster Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 126.
• Cramer, C.S. and R. Gibson. 2010. Determining redundancy within six groups of current and collected short-day onion accessions. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev. (Abstr.)
• Cramer, C.S. and J.N. Corgan. 2010. 'NuMex Serenade' onion. HortScience 45:1889-1892.
• Kisha, T. J. and C.S. Cramer. 2010. Determining redundancy of short-day onion (Allium cepa L. var. cepa) accessions in a germplasm collection. Oral Sessions Abstracts. 107th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticulture Science. Aug. 2-5, 2010, Palm Desert, Calif. p. 104.
• Saxena, A., Cramer, C.S., Steiner, R., and R. Sanderson. 2010. Spatial distribution of Fusarium basal rot and its causal agent in New Mexico onion fields. Proc. 2010 National Allium Research Conference. Dec. 8-10, 2010, Reno, Nev.

Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Open-pollinated, male-sterile, maintainer, and pollinator breeding lines were screened for disease resistance, bolting resistance, bulb yield, bulb quality, maturity dates, and bulb color. Promising breeding lines and released cultivars were compared to commercial cultivars and experimental lines using variety trials. Hybrid lines were evaluated for disease resistance, bulb yield, and bulb quality. Three screening methods for developing FBR resistance were evaluated using progeny that resulted from this screening. Short- and intermediate-day onion germplasm was screened from resistance/tolerance to IYSV. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The New Mexico onion industry is economically significant and is highly competitive. The industry has a recent history of expansion, and the potential exists for further expansion. Further development and release of high-yielding, high-quality, well-adapted, bolting-resistant, disease-resistant, short-, intermediate-, and long-day onion open-pollinated and hybrid cultivars with varying maturities and scale colors, and improved bulb quality will support industry growth in New Mexico. Genetic improvement in bolting resistance, disease resistance, and bulb quality also will facilitate further expansion and add significantly to New Mexico's economic development.

Publications

• Cramer, C.S. and J.N. Corgan. 2009. 'NuMex Radiance' onion. HortScience 44:820-823.
• Larsen, T., A. Saxena, and C.S. Cramer. 2009. Relatedness of bulb firmness to other attributes of New Mexico onion entries. Inter. J. Veg. Sci. 15:206-217.
• Multani, P.S., C.S. Cramer, R.L. Steiner, and R. Creamer. 2009. Screening winter-sown onion entries for Iris yellow spot virus tolerance. HortScience 44:627-632.
• Saxena, A. and C.S. Cramer. 2009. Screening of onion seedlings for resistance against New Mexico isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cepae. J. Plant Pathology 91:199-202.
• Walker, S., N. Goldberg, and C.S. Cramer. 2009. Onion diseases in New Mexico. N.M. Coop. Exten. Serv. Circ. 538 (Update)
• Walker, S., J. Ashigh, C.S. Cramer, T. Sammis, and B. Lewis. 2009. Bulb onion culture and management for southern New Mexico. N.M. Coop. Exten. Serv. Circ. 563 (Update)