Knowledge-Based Company Commercializes Technology to Produce Modified Onion Seeds

“Now we are working on three types of plants; onion, carrot and pumpkin, and onion seeds have entered the commercial production stage,” Parviz Hesabi, the managing-director of the knowledge-based company and a graduate of horticulture from Tabriz University, told ANA.

He explained that given the lack of proper and genetically uniform seeds in the market, red onion producers cannot produce a high-quality and uniform product, adding that therefore, a need for industrial production of modified onion seeds was felt.

“The method used in this technology is the same method used for production of modified seeds in the European countries for many years to have a large amount of onion varieties and for the production of inbred and hybrid lines,” Hesabi said.

Onions come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. The white, yellow, or red bulbs range in size from small pickling onions to large Spanish cultivars; they can be globe-, top-, or spindle-shaped.

Growing onions from seed offers the great advantage of a wide choice in cultivars. The challenge with starting from seeds is that your crop will take up to four months to mature. Gardeners in cold-winter areas will need to start their onion seedlings indoors.

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