ONION GENOTYPE SKILLS IN DIFFERENT PLANTING SYSTEMS

Currently, planting onion through seedling production is predominant in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Thus, the present work aimed to evaluate the agronomic potential of new onion genotypes as a function of the planting system for this region. Eleven genotypes were evaluated, as follows: “commercial genotypes” Bola Precoce, Mulata, Sprint, Suprema and “pre-commercial genotypes” TE 201, TE 209, TE 216, TE 230, TE 242, TE 316 and TE 329, submitted to four planting systems: seedling production, seedling production with leaf pruning before transplanting, no-tillage manually planted at the definitive site and seedling production in trays. Treatments were arranged in an 11 x 4 factorial scheme (eleven genotypes and four planting systems). Although little practiced, the no-till system for onion cultivation for the northwestern region of Rio Grande do Sul can potentially be explored. Genotypes that best adapted to this system were: Bola Precoce, Suprema, Sprint, Mulata and TE 201. Comparatively, “commercial” genotypes showed an increase of 10.81 t ha-1 in relation to “pre-commercial” genotypes in the no-till system, proving the efficiency of this system.