Development of seed propagated shallot (Allium cepa L var. aggregatum) varieties in Ethiopia

Shallot is one of the major vegetable crops used for seasoning local cuisines in Ethiopia. It is propagated vegetatively using bulbs as planting material. However, the use of bulbs as planting material is not advisable, because bulbs are expensive, bulky to transport, transmit diseases from one generation to the next, and have short shelf life. As a result, production of shallot decreased considerably in favor of the seed propagated onions. To reverse the trend, a study was undertaken to develop shallot varieties that can be propagated through seed. In the first phase of the development, sixty nine shallot accessions, that could bolt and produce seeds, were identified. Three accessions (DZSHT-91-2B, DZSHT-193-1A and DZSHT-157-1B), which had desirable bulb characteristics were developed through recurrent positive selection from 2008 to 2014. Then the three varieties were compared with an onion variety Bombay Red, a vegetatively propagated shallot variety Minjar and an introduced seed propagated shallot variety Vethalan. The trials were lied out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications at three different agro-ecological locations. The results of the study showed that the three varieties, in addition to mitigating the aforementioned problems, had 44-86% higher bulb yield and higher proportion of big and medium size bulbs as compared to shallot variety Minjar. The yield and total soluble solids (TSS) of the varieties were comparable with Bombay Red and Vethalan varieties. The three selected seed producing cultivars also produced seed yield of 6.0-10.4 g per plant. Therefore, the varieties will benefit shallot bulb and seed producers, transporters and traders.