‘Improved Taherpuri’- a New Improved Onion Variety Developed Through Selection

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‘Improved Taherpuri’-a New Improved Onion Variety Developed Through Selection
Sitesh C. Biswas*
BRAC Agricultural Research & Development Centre, BRRI, Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh
*Corresponding author: siteshchbiswas@yahoo.com
Abstract
Onion is an important field crop and it is widely cultivated in Bangladesh and the major onion growing
districts in Bangladesh are Rajshahi, Faridpur, Pabna, Meherpur, Kushtia, Magura, Bogura, Rangpur, Thakurgaon,
Dinajpur, Jamalpur etc. Although different types of improved onion varieties are cultivated here in this country but
the two popular local varieties namely ‘Taherpuri’ and ‘Faridpuri’ have good market demand in the market due to
their good bulb shape, size, taste, flavour, pungency and storability. However, no improvement of these 2 varieties
have been done so far as a result the yield of these 2 local varieties is poor and the bulb quality has been deteriorated
significantly. Among these 2 popular varieties, in an effort to improve the variety ‘Taherpuri’; bulb samples of local
‘Taherpuri’ variety were collected and after following a series of breeding steps finally the improvement of the local
stock has been made at BRAC Agricultural Research & Development Centre. It has been released as ‘Improved
Taherpuri’ onion variety which is characterized by excellent plant vigour, good uniformity rate, larger bulb size having
good taste and storability. Its yield has been recorded as 10-12 Mt/acre with better bulb shape, size, bulb wt. (bulb wt.
40-45gm) and good bulb quality as well. Desirable quantity of good quality seeds was also obtained from the newly
developed improved variety.
Key words: Allium cepa, Onion, Selection, Spice crop, Taherpuri, Varietal improvement
Onion (Allium cepa) is a cool-season crop and it is chiefly grown for its bulbs as well as leaves
which are used as salad, cooked in various ways in curries, fried, boiled, used in soup making, in pickles
and for many other purposes. It has some medicinal properties as well and compounds from onion are
reported to have a wide range of health benefits which include anti-carcinogenic properties, anti-platelet
activity, asthmatic and antibiotic effects (Griffiths 2002). This valuable crop is cultivated in more than 130
countries across the world. The world annual production of onion in the year 2017 was 97,862,928 tons of
dry bulbs from 5,201,591 hectares of land with an average yield 18.80 Mt/ha. A global analysis considering
area and production of major vegetables shows that onion ranks second in area and third in production in
the world, among other widely grown important vegetables like cauliflower, green peas, cabbage, tomato,
green beans and garlic as well (Peter, 1998). China, India, USA, Iran, Russia, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan,
Brazil, Netherland, Nigeria, Mexico, Korea, Spain, Algeria, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Myanmar, Japan,
Uzbekistan is the major onion growing countries in the world (FAOSTAT 2013a) and China ranks first in
onion production among these countries while India is a lead exporter of onion. Onion is an important rabi
season crop in Bangladesh and it is generally used as a spice crop here although sometimes it is used as
vegetables particularly in the form of salad. Onion stands first among the different spice crops grown in

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Bangladesh both in terms of area (3.25 lakh ha) and production (17.55 lakh metric tons) (BBS 2014) with
the mean yield of 8.69 Mt/ha which is much lower compared to the world average of 18.33 Mt/acre
(FAOSTAT 2015, Anik et.al. 2017). Different types of varieties of onions viz. Taherpuri, Faridpuri, BARI-
1 Piyanj, BARI-5 Piyanj, Pabna local, Shuk Sagar, Bahadur, Lalima, Ranga etc. are grown in different
regions of this country for either as spice crop or for vegetables. Some of these varieties (e.g., Taherpuri &
Faridpuri) have very good flavour, pungency, taste and storage quality besides their excellent size and
shape. Very recently different types of imported varieties of onion having extra-large size bulb having the
wt. 150-200 gm is being observed in the vegetable market of the township areas of Bangladesh during the
crisis period. Based on the above-mentioned characteristics ‘Taherpuri’ variety (named after the name of
Taherpur Upazilla of Rajshahi district) is very popular in Bangladesh and the most of the onion growers
usually show their interest for growing this local ‘Taherpuri’ variety than any other onion variety due to its
good market demand and storge quality. It can be mentioned here that in each and every year huge onion
bulbs are imported particularly from neighboring countries to meet up the growing demand of onion in
Bangladesh. From a report of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, it has been found that Bangladesh imported
55,499 metric tons of onion during the year 2005 (BBS 2007). Since the bulbs of local onion varieties can
be stored up to 5 to 6 months easily there is a trend of storage of onions in the countryside in Bangladesh
and these stored onions are either sold at higher price in the monsoon season to get more profit or used for
domestic purposes to save the money which would be used for onion purchasing during its higher price in
the market. As the storage and eating quality of onion varieties other than ‘Taherpuri’ are not good this is
why there is a good demand of ‘Taherpuri’ variety among the people who want to preserve and sell onion
for longer period and particularly during the crisis period. Onion is a highly cross-pollinated crop and due
this cross-pollinated behavior, breeding methods like mass selection, pedigree method, bulk population
method and heterosis breeding have been recommended for its improvement (Peter, 1998). Very recently
heterosis breeding has become a popular breeding method for onion improvement as heterosis has been
reported in onion for bulb yield, earliness, uniform bulb size, storability, dry matter content, leaves/plant,
leaf area/plant, plant weight, bulb weight, ascorbic acid content, pigment content, mineral content, heat
tolerance, seeds/plant, higher polysaccharides, peroxidase activity etc. and it can be mentioned here that
with the discovery of male sterility in onion hybrid seed production has become a commercial feasibility.
Research on interspecific hybridization is also being carried out setting the objective to generate variability
so that useful variants with higher yield, good quality, high dry matter content good storage properties,
minimal bolting and resistance to diseases can be selected out in onion (Peter 1998). Seed production of the
local onion varieties is relatively a complicated process and onion seeds are generally produced in
Bangladesh by bulb planting methods and usually it takes 2 seasons to produce seeds of onion. But since
onion seed production is very much profitable; many farmers who have failed to earn profit by growing
other crops has become successful in earning good profit from onion seed production. And this is why in
Bangladesh, many farmers are now showing interest in onion seed production. As there is a very good
demand of high-quality seeds of onion in Bangladesh and there are few excellent varieties of onion here in
Bangladesh; a program on the improvement of a local variety ‘Taherpuri Local’ was initiated at BARDC
(BRAC Agricultural Research & Development Centre) on the basis of ‘Greater Initial Capital’ theory
postulated by Ashby (1930) followed by ‘Recurrent Selection’ process proposed by Hayes & Garber (1919)
and also by East and Jones (1920). Actually, the breeding activities on onion were started at BARDC during
the year 2005-2006 by collecting original ‘Taherpuri’ variety. Following are the excerpts of breeding
activities made so far for its improvement in size & quality.

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Fig.1. Plot of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ at ‘BARDC.
Table. 1. Year wise activities for varietal improvement of the ‘Local Taherpuri’ variety.
Year Activities Remarks
2005-2009 Collection of good quality onion bulbs of
‘Taherpuri Local’ variety and planting superior
quality bulbs each and every year and producing
their seeds to prepare a good quality stock of onion
germplasms.
Germplasm collection and maintenance
of the germplasm.
2010-11 Seed production from selected larger & medium size
single bulb at BARDC from a purified germplasm
stock of ‘Taherpuri Local’ variety. Diseased &
weaker plants were removed through rogueing.
Good quality seeds were harvested from
healthy plants.
2011-12 Seed grading (selection of seeds according to their
size- larger, medium & small), seedling raising from
each of the category, transplantation, rogueing &
bulb as well as seed production from selected stocks
maintaining isolation distance.
Variations in overall plant vigour,
growth, bulb size and in other
characteristics were noticed among the
plants derived from each category;
improvement in the bulb size & quality
was observed in the population derived
from larger and medium size seeds.
2012-13 Seedling raising from seeds obtained from larger &
medium seed stocks, seedling selection for
transplantation & bulb production accordingly
maintaining suitable isolation distance. Selection of
good quality single bulb having higher storability.
Bulbs were preserved for planting at Gazipur
BARDC, in 2013-14.
Again, variations in the phenotype
between the plant population derived
from larger and medium size seed stocks
were noticed while uniformity in the
populations within each stock was
observed.
2013-14 Planting of superior quality bulb from stocks of
larger and medium size seed stocks maintaining
uniform distance and suitable isolation distance,
rogueing & seed production.
Seeds of the best plants from large &
medium size seed stocks and were
bulked to constitute the main source seed
stock.
2014-15 Raising of seedlings from the source seed stock,
seedling selection, transplantation of selected
seedlings in the plot maintaining suitable isolation
distance and keeping uniform spacing. Bulb
Again, superior performances of the
source seed stock were noticed and bulbs
were being stored separately for the
preliminary yield trial.

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production & selection of bulbs in the field & also
during post-harvest operations.
2015-2016 PYT of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ was conducted in the
‘Rabi season’ using suitable check varieties.
Better performance of ‘Improved
Taherpuri’ was observed.
2016-2017 RYT of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ was conducted in 3
regions in the ‘Rabi season’ using locally grown
check varieties.
Good performance of ‘Improved
Taherpuri’ was observed.
2017-2018 High quality bulb production for producing good
quality seed of ‘Improved Taherpuri’.
High quality bulb was produced
following standard cultivation
technique.
2018-19 Good quality seed production from high quality bulb
of the newly developed onion variety.
Good quality seed of the new variety
was produced following standard onion
seed production technique.
Bulb wt. of the variety ‘Taherpuri’ variety at different stages of improvement: During the course of the
improvement of ‘Taherpuri’ variety, bulb wt./bulb and bulb diameter/bulb were recorded and compared
with the original stock which have been presented in Table 2 & Table 3 (Fig.1). Table 2. shows that during
the year 2012 the mean bulb wt. of bigger size bulbs was recorded as 35.36 gm and the wt. of medium size
bulbs was recorded as 25.87 gm respectively which were found to be 92.17% and 84.78% higher than the
bulb wt. of ‘Original stock’. Yet again, in 2015 the mean wt. of bigger size bulbs was recorded as 39.60
gm and the wt. of medium size bulbs was recorded as 27.50 gm. Therefore, after 4 years of improvement
process the enhancement of bulb wt. of bigger size bulbs was found to be 115.21% and in case of medium
size bulbs the increment of bulb wt. was found to be 96.42% higher than bulb wt. of the ‘Original stock’
(18.40 gm). Similarly, the same pattern of improvement in bulb diameter was also noticed in the ‘Taherpuri’
variety and during the year 2015, compared to the bulb diameter of the ‘Original stock’, the diameter of the
improved variety was found to be increased by 31.20%.
Table. 2. Bulb weight (gm) variations of local ‘Taherpuri’ variety at different stages of
improvement.
Year 2011 2012 2015
Stock Original Stock Improved stock
Size
category
Big size
(gm)
Medium
size (gm)
Big size
(gm)
Medium
size (gm)
Big size
(gm)
Medium
size (gm)
Mean ± S.D
(range)
18.40 ± 1.84
(16-20)
14.00±1.33
(12-16)
35.36±2.74
(31.2-40.7)
25.87±3.04
(20.1-30.3)
39.60±2.55
(34-44)
27.50±1.78
(24-31)
% Increased
than
original
stock
- - + 92.17 + 84.78 + 115.21 + 96.42

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Table. 3. Bulb diameter (cm) variations of local ‘Taherpuri’ variety as a result of improvement.
Year 2011 2015
Stock Original Stock Improved stock
Mean ± S.D
(range)
3.20 ± 0.24
(2.90 -3.60)
4.22 ± 0.37
(3.60 - 4.60)
% Of increased diameter
than original stock
- + 31.20
Comparative studies on fresh bulb weight (gm) & diameter (cm) of biggest size bulbs of ‘Improved
Taherpuri’ with other commercial varieties: A comparative study on fresh bulb wt. & diameter of biggest
size bulbs of ‘Improved Taherpuri’, ‘BARI Piyanj-5’, ‘Lalima’, ‘Ranga’ & ‘Bahadur’ was carried out and
the mean values have been presented in Table.4. The table shows that among the 5 varieties studied, the
highest bulb wt. was recorded in the variety ‘Bahadur’ (131.24 gm) and the lowest bulb wt. was recorded
in the variety ‘Improved Taherpuri’ (62.96 gm). Table. 4 also shows that almost 100.12% increased bulb
wt. was observed in ‘BARI Pianj-5’ compared to ‘Improved Taherpuri’ but when the bulb diameter was
considered, the highest bulb diameter was recorded in ‘Improved Taherpuri’ (7.02 cm) and the lowest bulb
diameter was recorded in Ranga (5.50 cm). However, the variety ‘Improved Taherpuri’ had better taste and
storability among the 5-onion varieties studied (Fig. 2).
Table. 4. Comparative studies on fresh bulb weight (gm) & diameter (cm) of biggest bulbs of
‘Improved Taherpuri’, ‘BARI Pianj-5’ (check), ‘Lalima’ (check), ‘Ranga’ (check) & ‘Bahadur’
(Check) (Year 2012).
Variety/
Line
Improved
Taherpuri
BARI-5 Lalima Ranga Bahadur
Characters Bulb
weight
(gm)
Bulb
dia-
meter
(cm)
Bulb
weight
(gm)
Bulb
dia-
meter
(cm)
Bulb
weight
(gm)
Bulb
dia-
meter
(cm)
Bulb
weight
(gm)
Bulb
dia-
meter
(cm)
Bulb
weight
(gm)
Bulb
dia-
meter
(cm)
Mean 62.96 7.02 126.71 6.95 118.78 6.85 104.73 5.50 131.24 6.70
± S.D ± 9.10 ±0.62 ± 52.00 ±0.49 ±17.06 ±0.44 ±18.41 ±0.49 ± 13.49 ±0.52
(range) (49.55
-
77.67)
(6.2-
7.3)
(86.58-
230.29)
(6.3 -
7.7)
(99.12-
161.01)
(6.2-7.5) (74.14-
139.35)
(5.0-6.6) (117.35-
163.11)
(5.8-7.5)
% increased
or decreased
than ‘Imp.
Taherpuri’
- - +100.12 -1.01 +88.65 -2.42 +65.23 -27.66 +68.28 -4.77

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Fig. 2. Different categories of onion bulbs of the local variety ‘Improved Taherpuri’.
Main characteristic features of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ (Fig.1, 2 & 3) are:
1. Plants exhibited good vigour, uniform growth & better development.
2. Improved stock of original 'Taherpuri' having uniform larger size bulbs having high percentage of
single bulbs with shiny brown colour.
3. Flat type pitcher shaped bulb with good bulb wt. (bulb wt. 40-45gm) and the neck region is very
narrow.
4. High degree of storability is observed and loose water very slowly during storage period.
5. Pungency as well as flavour are very much similar to the original 'Taherpuri' variety but its taste is
better than that of original variety 'Taherpuri Local'.
6. Tolerant to major diseases and yield per acre is around 10-12 Mt.
7.Seed yield per acre 270-300 Kg.

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Fig. 3. Best quality onion bulbs of the newly developed ‘Improved Taherpuri’ variety.
Bulb wt. and diameter of different categories of bulb of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ onion variety of the year
2014-15 and the comparative study with BARI report (secondary data) of Taherpuri onion variety:
In a report published by BARI (Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute) they classified the local
‘Taherpuri’ variety bulbs and recorded the bulb diameter for the ‘Bigger size’, ‘Medium size’ and ‘Smaller’
size bulbs as 3.8 cm, 2.50cm and 1.80 respectively. But in the present investigation we have recorded the
bulb diameter of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ of ‘Bigger’ size, ‘Medium’ size and ‘Smaller’ size bulbs as 4.22
cm, 3.06 cm and 2.61 cm respectively (Table.5). Therefore, an increased bulb diameter of the newly
developed onion variety was exhibited as 11.05% for bigger size,, 22.40 % for medium size and 45% for
smaller size respectively than BARI reported bulb diameter of ‘Taherpuri’ onion variety (Table.5) .

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Table. 5. Bulb wt. and diameter of different categories of bulb of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ onion
variety of the year 2014-15 and the comparative study with BARI report of ‘Taherpuri’ onion
variety.
Parameters Category of bulbs Remarks
Bigger size Medium size Smaller size
Bulb wt. (gm) 39.60 ± 2.55
(34.00 - 44.00)
27.50 ± 1.78
(24.00-31.00)
14.70 ± 1.36
(13.00 - 17.00)
According to BARI report,
bulb diameter of
‘Taherpuri’: for bigger
size, medium size and
smaller size- 3.8 cm, 2.50
cm & 1.80 cm
respectively.
Bulb diameter (cm) 4.22 ± 0.37
(3.60 - 4.60)
3.06 ± 0.16
(2.80 - 3.50)
2.61 ± 0.11
(2.50 - 2.80)
Increased over BARI
reported diameter (%)
+ 11.05 + 22.40 +45.00
Bulb production from inferior quality bulbs in the early season: Since onion seed production is
a 2 years process, consequently bulbs are stored for a longer period (almost 7-8 months) and during
this bulb preservation process a considerable number of bulbs (near about 30-40%) tended to lose
water gradually and become unfit for producing seeds and these extremely shriveled bulbs cannot
be used for consumption as well. If these poor-quality bulbs are planted in the very early part of
the onion growing season and suitable production technique is followed, good quality bulbs can
be produced within a shorter period (within 70-75 DAT) and these bulbs fetches higher prices in
the early season market. To validate this technology 3.00 kg of poor-quality bulbs of ‘Improved
Taherpuri’ were planted in 0.30 decimal of land on 10. 07. 2014 and finally 13.5 Kg of fresh bulbs
were produced (Figs. 4-8).
Fig. 4. Good quality bulb of ‘Improved Fig.5. Poor quality bulb of ‘Improved Taherpuri’
Taherpuri’ (Left). (right).

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Fig. 6. Good plants produced from poor quality bulb of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ (right).
Fig.7. Bulbs produced good plants raised from Fig. 8. Bulbs produced plants raised from
poor quality bulb. poor quality bulb.
Preliminary Yield Trial (PYT) of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ with other check varieties grown during
the Rabi season of 2015-16: Preliminary Yield Trial (PYT) of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ was
conducted at BARDC (BRAC Agricultural Reasearch & Development Centre) during the year

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2015-16 and the results have been presented in Table. 6. In this experiment, along with the newly
developed line ‘Improved Taherpuri’ five other varieties {ONI 01/15, ONI 01/14, ONI 02/14,
‘Taherpuri’ variety already in the market, ‘Taherpuri EW 20’ (from Lal Teer Seed)} were
included. Table. 6 shows that a wide variation existed in all the characters studied among the 6
onion varieties. It also indicated the fact that the variation among the 3 ‘Taherpuri’ category
varieties were relatively low. Almost similar as well as the highest level of crop duration was
observed in the ONI 01/15 and ‘Improved Taherpuri’ variety while bulbs of the variety ‘Taherpuri
EW 20’ could be harvested a little earlier than other varieties (crop duration= 139.66 days). Among
the 6 varieties ONI 02/14 produced bulbs having highest bulb wt. (84.8 gm/bulb) while the lowest
bulb wt. was observed in ‘Taherpuri’ variety already in the mrket. Among the 6 varieties, highest
bulb yield was recorded in ONI 02/14 while the lowest yield was recorded in ONI 01/15. Relatively
moderate yield was recorded in the variety ‘Improved Taherpuri’ (Table. 6). Highest frequency of
split bulb was recorded in ‘Taherpuri’ variety already in the market while no split bulb was
recorded in the variety ‘ONI 01/14.
Table. 6. Preliminary Yield Trial (PYT) of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ during the Rabi season of
2015-16.
Variety/Line Seeding
& Trans-
planting
date
Final
har-
ves-
ting
Dura-
tion
(days)
Bulb
wt.
/bulb(
gm)
Yield
(MT/ac)
% of
split
bulb
Remarks Comments
ONI 01/15
S.D.
20.10.15
95 143 13.8 6.59 15.38
Plants were found to be
weak and had lower
uniformity rate.
Inferior quality
variety (Not
Acceptable).
ONI 01/14 93 141 74.3 10.17 -
No major diseases and
insect attacks, lower
uniformity than ONI 02/14.
As the market of
these types of onion
is expanding this
variety can be put
into MLT.
ONI 02/14 92 140 84.8 10.63 0.34
insect attacks, more
uniformity than ONI 01/14.
Less pungent variety.
92.33 140.33 28.7 7.21
uniformity than ‘Improved
Taherpuri’
112.95% increased
joint bulb than
‘Improved Taherpuri’
and compared to

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Taherpuri
(Variety already
in the market)
T.D.
07.12.15
25.81 ‘Improved Taherpuri’
from the very
seedling stage
lower uniformity was
observed.
Taherpuri
EW 20
91.66 139.66 29.7 7.1
13.80
uniformity than ‘Improved
Taherpuri’.
Variety of ‘Lal Teer
Seed’.
Improved
Taherpuri
95 143 36.90 8.07
12.12
Plants were healthier than
other check varieties and
had good uniformity.
11.92% increased
bulb production than
‘Taherpuri’ variety
already in the market
(which is equivalent
to 1 Mt per acre) &
13.66 % increased
yield than Lal Teer
variety was observed
in ‘Improved
Taherpuri’.
Regional Yield Trial (RYT) of ‘Improved Taherpuri’:
Regional Yield Trial (RYT) of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ was conducted in 3 regions (Gazipur,
Dinajpur & Meherpur) respectively and the results of the RYT have been presented in Table. 7. In
this experiment, along with the newly developed line ‘Improved Taherpuri’ 3 other varieties
(Improved Taherpuri, BARI Pianj-1, Original Stock of ‘Taherpuri’ (from which the Improved
Taherpuri has been developed). Table.7. shows that 10.13% yield increase was recorded in
‘Improved Taherpuri’ than original stock. Alongside, bulb wt. & bulb diameter has been increased
by 20.44% and 8.89% respectively than original stock. Although the variety EW 20 exhibited the
highest yield (4.80 Mt/acre) its bulbs had very little storability. On the other hand, ‘BARI Pianj-1’
gave 4.28 Mt/acre yield but it took 11 days more for harvesting of its bulb (Table.7). It can also be
mentioned here that the percentage of split bulb was recorded in lowest frequency in the newly
developed ‘Improved Taherpuri’ variety.
Table.7. Mean values of yield parameters of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ grown at different regions
of Bangladesh as a part of multi-location trial.
Variety/Line Seeding
& trans-
planting
date
Days
taken
to
1st
harves-
ting
Final
har-
vesting
Dura-
tion
(days)
Bulb wt.
(gm)
Bulb
diameter
(cm) Yield
(MT/ac)
% of
split
bulb
Remarks

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Improved
Taherpuri
S.D
11.11.16
T.D
17.12.16
94.75 97.25 117.25 38.06 4.90 4.24 20.82 10.13% yield increase
was recorded
‘Improved Taherpuri’
than original stock.
Alongside, bulb
wt./bulb and bulb
diameter/bulb has
been increased by
20.44% and 8.89%
respectively than
original stock.
BARI Pianj-1 94.25 97.00 128.00 34.01 4.40 4.28 28.67
Original Stock 94.25 96.75 127.75 31.60 4.50 3.85 27.32
EW 20 95.50 98.50 129.50 37.53 4.50 4.80 34.01
Effect of seedlings types on bulb wt. from the newly developed variety ‘Improved Taherpuri’: To
understand the effect of seedling types on bulb wt., an experiment was carried out at BARDC
during the Rabi season of 2015-16 in 2 decimal plots. Based on the seedling vigour & seedling
health 2 types of seedlings a) High quality seedlings & b) Medium quality seedlings were selected
and grown in the experimental plots with 2 replications. At the harvesting period, 10 healthy fresh
bulbs from each of the types of seedlings were selected and their wt. was taken which have been
presented in the Table. 8. The table shows that the variation exists in the fresh bulb wt. among the
single and split bulb wt. produced by the 2 types of seedlings used. In the case of single bulb 14.28
% & for split bulb; bulb wt. was found to be increased up to 5.75% respectively by transplanting high
quality seedlings. But it is interesting to note that in case of using high quality seedlings, variations within
the fresh bulb wt. of split bulbs were found to be greater than the bulb wt. variations observed in the split
bulbs produced from the medium quality seedlings.
Table. 8. Bulb wt. of 10 bulbs each produced from 2 types of seedlings from the newly developed
variety ‘Improved Taherpuri’ grown during the Rabi season of 2015-16.
Bulbs produced from high
quality seedlings
Bulbs produced from
medium quality seedlings
Remarks Bulb wt. of
biggest type single
onion bulb in 2012
Bulb
no.
Wt. of
single
bulb
(gm)
Wt. of
split
bulb
Bulb
no.
Wt. of
single
bulb
(gm)
Wt. of
split
bulb
In case of single
bulb 14.28 % & for
split bulb; bulb wt.
was found to be
increased up to
5.75% respectively
by transplanting
high quality
seedlings. However,
in case of using high
quality seedlings
variations within the
bulb wt. of split
62.96 ± 9.10
(49.55-77.67)
1 69.00 98.00 1 62.00 88.00 Bulb wt. of
biggest type single
onion bulb in 2016
2 62.00 85.00 2 55.00 93.00
3 68.00 92.00 3 63.00 85.00
4 64.00 93.00 4 53.00 92.00
5 60.00 80.00 5 64.00 83.00
6 67.00 104.00 6 53.00 86.00 65.60 ± 3.56
(60.00 -70.00)
7 61.00 86.00 7 61.00 87.00
8 70.00 96.00 8 50.00 90.00

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9 67.00 89.00 9 59.00 80.00 bulbs were found to
be higher than bulb
wt. variations
observed in the split
bulbs produced from
the from the medium
quality seedlings.
10 68.00 97.00 10 54.00 86.00
Mean 65.60 92.00 Mean 57.40 87.00
± S. D ± 3.56 ±7.15 ±4.97 ±4.02
Range (60-70) (85-104) (50-64) (80-92)
Onion bulb production from good quality seeds of ‘Improved Taherpuri’: Good quality seeds harvested
from selected bulbs were sown on seed beds after germinating them initially within a piece of moist cloth
tied for stimulating dormant seeds for germination. Better seedling emergence was noticed and 40 days old
selected healthy seedlings were transplanted in the main plot on 15.11.17 Standard cultural practices were
provided to ensure better growth of onion plants. Almost all the plants grew uniformly and produced good
quality bulbs at the end of the season. No. of off-type plants were recorded in the population of ‘Improved
Taherpuri’ variety. The plot was also found to be unaffected by major diseases. At the end of the season
good quality larger uniform size bulbs were harvested and interestingly most of these harvested bulbs were
found to be fleshy type single bulb. Not only were these bulbs found to increase in size and shape these
bulbs had better taste as well.
Onion seed production from good quality bulb of ‘Improved Taherpuri’: With a view to produce high
quality seeds of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ larger size bulbs were planted on 07.11.2018 in 10 decimals of land.
Within few days healthy plants came out from the bulbs and a disease-free population of the line was
developed providing standard cultural practices of onion cultivation. These plants were came into flowering
on 05.12.18 (at 28 DAT) and a high quality almost uniform umbels were produced by these plants (Figs. 9
& 10). At maturity, these healthy umbels produced fine quality seeds. It can be mentioned here that a wide
variation in the production of umbel per bulb was noticed during the seed production of ‘Improved
Taherpuri’ and this is very important for seed production as the quantity of seeds per plot is very much
dependent on the production of umbels by each bulb. Umbels produced from each bulb have been presented
in the table below (Table 9).
Table. 9. Data on the nature of umbel formation during seed production.
Name of
the line
% non
bolting
bulb
Frequency of umbels from each bulb (%)
One
umbel
Two
umbels
Three
umbels
Four
umbels
Five
umbels
Six
umbels
Seven
umbels
Eight
umbels
Improved
Taherpuri
1.44 4.35 2.89 5.79 10.14 36.23 23.18 13.04 2.89
It is interesting to note that during the year 2018-19 season highest frequency of umbel per bulb
was noticed as 5 umbels per bulb (36.23 %) and the 2nd
highest frequency was recorded as 6 umbels per
bulb (23.18%). Although all the bulbs planted produced umbels yet there were very few non-bolting plants
(1.44% only) and as many as plants having eight umbels per plant was also recorded (2.89%) from the plot.
No off-type plants were noticed in the ‘Improved Taherpuri’ population and the plot was found to be disease
free. Finally excellent quality of seeds was produced from this plot at the rate of 270 Kg per acre. In the
same year in conjunction with this experiment, good quality bulbs of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ were also sent
to Thakurgaon district well known for onion seed production and was tested at the farmers level for its
acceptance and the farmer’s reaction towards the new line. Alongside its performance was also compared

14
with the local ‘Taherpuri’ variety as the said farmer also grew ordinary ‘Taherpuri’ variety purchasing bulb
from the local market. Compared to local variety, the plants of ‘Improved Taherpuri’ were found to be
healthier and gave higher seed yield than the local variety although the farmer harvested 40 Kg of good
quality seeds from 25 decimals of land.
Fig. 9. Onion seed production plot at BARDC. Fig. 10. An umbel of onion variety ‘Improved
Taherpuri’.
Actually, onion production is profitable in terms of gross returns in Bangladesh when compared to
its competitive crops like mustard, groundnut and cabbage (Haque et.al. 2011). In Bangladesh with the
ever-increasing population pressure and side by side improvement of the purchasing power of the common
people, demand of onion is also increasing day by day in this thickly populated country. On the other hand,
due to competition of other rabi season crops the area for onion cultivation is not increasing considerably.
Therefore, enhancement of onion production in the limited area utilizing minimum resources is need of the
hour and improved variety can increase the production of onion significantly utilizing the scarce resources.
Needless to say, as during the harvesting period, price of the fresh onion bulbs remain very low onion
production usually does not bring desired level of profit to the onion growers. Therefore, onion variety
having longer period of storability is desirable and since this ‘Taherpuri’ variety can be stored for a longer
period with better quality and can be sold at higher price during the crisis period, farmers usually prefer to
grow this variety to earn more profit. In fact, in Bangladesh this local variety is grown in two methods for
its commercial cultivation. To catch the early market some farmers, follow the practice of bulb-to-bulb
production method in which they plant the good quality bulbs during the month of August & September
and harvest the fresh bulbs during the November or December as in this method bulbs are formed within a
relatively shorter period (within 70-75 days after planting) and the grower can catch the early market and
get higher price. But naturally in this method the production per acre is much lower and the bulb quality is

15
not up to the mark. In another popular method (Seed to Bulb method) which is more laborious and time
consuming where at first seedlings are raised on seed bed during the month of November - December and
40-45 days old healthy seedlings are transplanted in the main plot and finally fresh bulbs are harvested
during the month of March & April. In this case 145-150 days are required to harvest the crop. Inevitably
the production of bulbs per acre are much higher and the better-quality bulbs are obtained in this practice
than earlier method. It can be mentioned here that by following this seed to bulb method, BRAC scientists
has become also successful in the production of good quantity of better-quality seeds of ‘Taherpuri’ too at
BARDC which reduced the time significantly (almost a year) and the hassles of bulb storing, plantation of
bulbs, growing crops etc. could be avoided which are necessary for onion seed production. Practically
BRAC scientists have successfully produced seeds of ‘Taherpuri’ variety within a year by transplanting
good quality seedlings at the very early part of the season and providing better management practices to
induce improved flowering which helped us to harvest good quality seeds from the flowering plants in the
same ‘Rabi Season’. Therefore, it can be concluded that the newly developed onion variety ‘Improved
Taherpuri’ will be able to fulfil the demand of the onion growers of Bangladesh.
References:
Anik, A. R., M. A. Salam and S. Rahman. 2017. Drivers of production and efficiency of onion cultivation
in Bangladesh. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci.23 (1): 34-41.
Ashby, E. 1930. Studies in the inheritance of physiological characters. I. A physiological investigation of
the nature of hybrid vigour in maize. Annals of Botany. 44: 457-467.
BBS 2007. Hand Book of Agricultural Statistics. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Statistics Division
Ministry of Planning, Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
BBS 2014. Year book of Agricultural Statistics. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Planning,
Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka.
East, E. M. and D. F. Jones. 1920. Genetic studies on the protein content of maize. Genetics. 5: 543-610.
FAOSTAT. 2013a. Food and Agricultural Commodities Production, FAOSTAT data, Food and
Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. Retrieved from
http://faostat3.fao.org/browse/rankings/countries_by_commodity/E.
FAOSTAT. 2015. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, FAOSTAT database.

16
http://faostat3.fao.org/download/Q/QC/E (Accessed on 23 August 2015).
Griffiths, G. 2002. Onions-A global benefit to health. John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.
Haque, M. A., M. A. M. Miah, S. Hossain, M. S. Rahman and Moniruzzaman. 2011. Profitability of
onion cultivation in some selected areas of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural
Research.36 (3).427-435.
Hays, V. B. and R. J. Garber.1919. Synthetic production in relation to breeding. Journal of American
society of agronomy. 11: 309-319.
Peter, K. V. 1998. Genetics and Breeding of vegetables.
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‘Improved Taherpuri’- a New Improved Onion Variety Developed Through Selection