12 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 318 



Table 1. Number of seeds per foot planted and number 

 which survived. 



was a good opportunity to study the influence of spacing on the quality and 

 quantity of the crop grown. After clipping, the onions were graded into two sizes, 

 above and below \ l i inches, and weights taken. One hundred pounds of bulbs 

 over 134 inches were also taken from each plot for further sizing. Table 2 shows 

 the average yields for the different treatments. These data show that the heavier 

 rates of seeding gave the heavier yields, but that a larger percentage of the yield 

 was in the smaller sizes of bulbs. They also show that the greater distance between 

 rows increased the percentage of large bulbs slightly, but that the area was used 

 more advantageously when the rows were 13 inches apart than when they were 

 15 or 18 inches apart. This would indicate that from 4 to 5 pounds of seed per 

 acre with 13 inches between rows should be most satisfactorv. 



*100 pound bags. 



THE EFFECT OF SIZE OF SET ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF CROP 



In 1930 an experiment 1 was planned to determine the effect of size of set on 

 yield, production of seed stalks, and production of doubles or divided bulbs; 

 also the effect of breaking off seed heads on the yield and quality of the crop. 

 Japanese onion sets, the type commonly grown in the Connecticut Valley, were 

 graded into three sizes and planted on an area uniformly fertilized with 2500 

 pounds per acre of a 4-12-8 fertilizer. The plots were in quadruplicate, and on 



'This experiment as well as those on the growing of sets was conducted on Merrimac fine sandy 

 loam. 



