Studies of Power Farming Systems of Welsh Onion Cultivation (Part 2) -Field test of new cropping type of Welsh onion using chain paper pots-

Abstract. Akita Prefecture is located in a cold area in Japan. Welsh onions raised there are shipped from mid-August through mid-December, before the snowy season. For that reason, Japanese farmers are striving to develop a new cropping type to lengthen the shipment period. So, we demonstrated that transplanting large seedlings sown in a 128-cell type nursery bed in mid-October the prior year can shorten cultivation periods, and can be harvested in mid-July: a month earlier than the conventional cropping type. This study describes field tests of the new cropping type, which uses chain pot seedlings and harvests at the end of July.

We used the Welsh onion cultivar "Natsu-Ougi Power" (Sakata Seed Co., Japan). Test blocks were composed of a large seedling block with one seed sown per pot on October 20, 2013, and a normal small seedling block with two seeds sown per pot on February 10, 2014. They were transplanted to a farmer’s fields in Noshiro city, Akita Prefecture, on April 13, 2014. The ratio of the chemical fertilizer we used was 3:1.1:1.1 (N:P:K) kg/a. The planting density was 2,222 seedlings /a at large seedling block, and 4,444 seedlings /a at normal small seedling block. Each field test area was 50 a.

Welsh onion seedlings raised by the chain pot were 6.0 times heavier, 1.6 times taller, 2.5 times as many leaves, and 2.6 times larger in terms of the number of roots than normal seedlings. Such large seedlings achieved a target yield at 300 kg/a on July 25.