As a followup to the previous years onion variety trial (1), 23 of the more promising long-day varieties were retested along with 5 new intermediate-day varieties. The soluble salts and exchangeable sodium percentage were high (4340 and 28.1%, respectively) in the field where the onions were grown. This suppressed the yields significantly from the previous year. The top yielder produced 386 sacks (50 lbs) compared with 956 sacks in 1985. The top yielders from 1985, Durango and Inca, performed well again this year. The new intermediate-day varieties produced well also and seem quite promising.

Forty-five different dry bulb onion varieties were grown and evaluated to provide a comparison of varietal characteristics including firmness, size, shape, and maturity.