ICRISAT Archival Report 2006 - The seedlings of success in the ...

Onions
Onions are an economically important vegetable crop in West Africa. The variety ‘Violet de Galmi’ is a Grano type
onion and is the preferred variety in all of West Africa. Since this variety was created in the mid-1970s, efforts to
maintain varietal purity were insufficient. Many local onion producers selected their own lines from the field,
resulting in great variability within this variety. In 2004 we purchased Violet de Galmi seeds from 42 well-regarded
onion seed producers in Niger and compared their performance using seven different criteria. We selected a line that
yielded more than 60 t/ha, compared with an average of 35 t/ha for the other lines, over two consecutive years. The
bulb quality of this line is reasonable. We are continuing to select within this line for better quality, especially longer
storage life and uniformity.
Table 3 gives the names of ten vegetable varieties selected so far for the Sudano-Sahel. Most of these varieties are
open-pollinated, allowing producers to multiply their own seeds. This is important because hybrid seeds are too
expensive for most small producers.
ICRISAT-Niamey is now maintaining and producing foundation seed of these varieties (Pic.4) and distributing them
to small-scale seed producers. A regional course on vegetable seed production and storage is offered annually to
reputed seed producers across the region.
Pic 4. Production of foundation seeds of
selected bolting-tolerant lettuce
Table 3. Vegetable varieties selected for the Sudano-Sahel climate
Species Common name Selected varieties Remarks
Tomatoes
Xina
(Improved)
Lycopersicum
esculentum
High yield, fruit set in
rainy season. Long shelf
life. Improved quality
Lycopersicum
esculentum
Tomatoes Hazera 3640 Hybrid. Firm, long shelf
life, many tolerances
Capsicum annum Sweet pepper Super Beitar Very high yield, large
fruit
Capsicum chinense Hot pepper Hot Habanero, Safi, High yielding, very
pungent, square shape
Lactuca sativa Lettuce Maya, Noga, Aviram All bolting tolerant.
and Queensland Aviram-iceberg type
Cucumis sativa Cucumbers Bet Alpha Tasty, heat tolerant, short
shelf life
Zea Mays Sweet corn True Gold Heat tolerant, tasty
Cucumis melo Melon Ein Dor Heat tolerant, very sweet
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