Aug 21, 2023

Crookham onion variety fares well in challenging northwest season

An onion variety from the Crookham Co. performed well in this year’s challenging Pacific Northwest growing season.

The Defender variety functioned satisfactorily in the Pacific Northwest Basin in 2023, according to a news release from Crookham.

“Farming has faced several challenges this, and past growing seasons,” Crookham officials said in the release. “We wanted to highlight some good news in the onion growing business in the Basin of the Pacific Northwest where it was a great season for long day onions.

The growing season presented challenges to onion varieties.

“The spring was conducive to early root and leaf development after emergence,” according to the release. “The late spring and early summer was warm, yet moderate, and the onion crop stand establishment was better than in previous years.”

Defender thrived in those challenging conditions and added uniformity and yield to the equation, according to the release.

The plant’s stand was near-perfect with an onion every 4 inches apart in one field observed with healthy bulbs all the way down the rows.

“The quality of the seed is seen in the striking uniformity of the plant growth over the season as the plants look consistent through each stage,” according to the release.

The Crookham teams look forward to following the yields from the Great Basin this season, and as always, the next season, according to the release.

Founded in 1911, Crookham, based in Caldwell, Idaho, is a family-owned business that in addition to supplying onions, supplies sweet corn and popcorn seed for conventional and organic production.