Seed Industry

Description of crop: Onion seed is a biennial crop produced either as a seed-to-seed crop or as a bulb-to-seed crop. If direct-seeded, the crop is planted in July and harvested in August the next year. If the crop is grown from vernalized bulbs, the bulbs (produced elsewhere) are transplanted in March and harvested in August the same year. Fields are left fallow following harvest. After planning, the fields are cultivated mechanically and hoed. Onion seed is harvested by hand or mechanically means. If cut mechanically, the crop is swathed onto paper and tied down to protect the umbels and seed from being blown away by wind. The crop is dried in the field for two to four weeks and then threshed. When harvested by hand, the crop is cut, placed in burlap sacks and dried via forced air. The dried crop is then fed by hand into a combine. After harvest, the seed is sent to a conditioning plant and cleaned to 99% purity. A majority of onion seed crops are grown in central Washington, with a...