Commercial seed lots of onion (Allium cepa L.) of the cultivars Octavia and Eureka were soaked for 12 h in water of the temperature 20• C, then they were exposed to low frequency magnetic eld (20 mT) for 10, 30, and 60 min. The eld was generated using a standard device for magnetic stimulation VIOFOR JPS applied in human medical treatment. Next, the seeds were evaluated for energy and capacity of germination, length of the received germs as well as fresh masses of the obtained seedlings using the routine methods recommended by the International Seed Testing Association. For the seeds of the cultivar Octavia, the eld did not aect the energy of germination, however it did improve in all tested treatments their germination capacity. In the best of them (60 min), the germination capacity increased by 4.6%. For the seeds of the cultivar Eureka, the tested eld increased their energy of germination, which improves evenness of plants emergences in the eld and has a signicant importance for horticultural practice. When the seeds were exposed to the eld for 60 min, their germination energy increased from 40% (control) to 63%. This result was accompanied by no dierences in both length of germs and fresh masses of the received from them seedlings.

In the coming years, it is expected that the European Union countries will increase their interest in the use of the Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum L.). It is a little-known vegetable from the Far East. Consequently, growers might be asking their extension advisors increasingly about its seed physiology and commercial production. This article provides basic information on the origin of the species, its botanical characteristics, the main breeding directions and achievements, seed production methods and areas, main plant breeding and seed production companies, seed dormancy and the best methods for seed storage, use of the crop and market responses to promotion activities.

No abstract

No abstract

In the years 2002 − 2004 research was carried out on the effect of onion (Allium cepa L.) 'Wolska' bulb size on selected morphological characteristics of seed stalks, seed yield and quality. Commercial bulbs (vernalised, one-year-old mother bulbs) were divided into three groups: small, medium and large, with diameters of 4.2-5.3 cm, 5.4-6.3 cm and 6.4-8.5 cm, respectively. Then, the bulbs of each group were planted in the field and grown routinely with the purpose of producing seeds. The following characters were measured on the seed stalks: number and height of seed stalks grown out from one bulb, the seed stalks' diameter at the height of 10 cm above the ground, the diameter of the inflorescence, seed yield from a single Effect of onion bulb size on number of seed stalks and seed yield 28 stalk and from the entire plant, the weight of 1000 seeds, number of seeds in 1 g, length and width of the seeds, length and width of the embryos, and germination energy and capacity. Our experiments showed a significant influence of bulb size on the number of seed stalks and the inflorescence diameter. It was discovered that the big bulbs gave larger numbers of seed stalks than the seed stalks grown from the medium and small ones. Small bulbs gave seed stalks with smaller inflorescences than the medium and large ones. The bulb size had no effect on the seed stalk height or their diameter when measured at the level of 10 cm above the ground. The bulb size also did not affect seed yield per one seed stalk, but it did affect the seed yield obtained from the entire plant, which was bigger for plants grown from large bulbs in comparison with the small ones. The size of the bulbs had no effect on either the weight of 1000 seeds or the number of seeds in 1 g. It did not affect either the seed and embryo length and width or the seed germination energy and capacity.