Breeding of early-maturing hybrid onion [Allium cepa] variety 'Early globe' and its characteristics

'Early Globe', a new long-day hybrid onion variety, was co-developed by the Hokkaido National Agricultural Experimental Station, Sapporo, Japan (present, National Agricultural Research Center for the Hokkaido Region), JA Furano, and Furano Kyodo Nosan Limited Company. 'Early Globe' is a hybrid of 'W202A' and 'S87-707'. The male sterile line 'W202A' was introduced from the USA in 1960 and has good general combining abilities. 'S87-707' was bred from the Japanese open-pollinated variety 'Sensyu-ki' in 1991, which is early-maturing variety and produced bulbs of high quality. 'Early Globe' is one of the most early-maturing varieties cultivated in Hokkaido; bulbs reach full maturity 10 days earlier than the 'Super Kita-momiji'. Bulb shape, bulb firmness, and bulb skin color are superior to those of other early-maturing varieties. 'Early Globe' has less foliage leaves and the yield is generally 20% lower than in 'Super Kita-momiji'. 'Early Globe' can be adapted to central Hokkaido areas. It is suitable for an early harvest at August. However, the bulbs are less suited for storage, and should be consumed before December.