Vegetative development and yield of five onion cultivars in Sandino, Pinar del Río

The research was conducted at the "El Jaguey" belonging to the Cooperative Credit and Service "Ramón López Peña" of the Council Popular Cortés, Sandino, Pinar de Río, with the aim of determining vegetative and yield development in five cultivars of onion (Allium cepa L.). The established cultivars were ‘Caribe 71’, ‘Diandra F1’, ‘Regent F1’, ‘Red Creole’ and ‘Texas Early Grain E 502’, which were distributed in a completely randomized block design with three replications. The planting was carried out in rows, at a distance of 0.30 x 0.10 m, with homogeneous seedlings of each cultivar. Evaluations were carried out at 32 and 60 days after transplantation, where the variables plant height, number of active leaves, diameter of the false stem and total fresh mass were characterized. At harvest time, the fresh mass, the equatorial and polar diameters and the humidity were determined in the bulbs. The crop yield was also estimated. The results showed greater vegetative development in the cultivars 'Texas Early Grano E 502' and 'Red Creole', although the former reached yields above 35 t ha-1 and significantly exceeded the other cultivars. The equatorial diameter of the bulb determined its fresh mass in more than 85%, with the exception of the cultivar 'Texas Early Grano E 502', while the percentage of humidity of the bulb exceeded 75% in all cases and was influenced by the color of the same.