The Centurion onion variety was bred in Holland. Its seeds germinate well, as it grows, the culture does not go in arrows. Centurion is resistant to drought, high humidity and sudden changes in temperature, but for its full development requires special conditions.
Onion Centurion is resistant to many pests and diseases
Onion Centurion is well stored and transported.
Onion Centurion has a sharpness of medium severity
Grade description
Centurion is an early ripe onion. The ripening process takes 90 days. This is a fruitful variety: from 1 square. m collect up to 4 kg of quality bulbs. The Dutch hybrid is not particularly fastidious in care, while possessing high taste and resistance to many pests and diseases.
The main characteristics of the bow Centurion:
- the weight of one bulb is from 90 to 130 g;
- keeping quality is high; under normal conditions (5-10 degrees), the crop is stored for 6 to 9 months;
- frost resistance - sufficient, up to -4 degrees in the morning;
- taste - severity of moderate severity, spicy notes;
- the shape is elongated, ellipsoidal.
The advantage of this variety is the lack of shooting. Centurion is also appreciated for the fact that during the storage period, onions lose no more than 5-7% by weight, and the waste does not exceed 4%.
The onion bulb of the Centurion variety has a narrow neck, which dries quickly, and a small bottom. This feature protects the culture from infection with various diseases, and also reduces the amount of waste when using onions in cooking.
This hybrid can be grown both on personal plots and on an industrial scale. Vegetables are equally well transported over long distances in nets and in bulk.
Centurion is suitable for eating raw, preserving, adding boiled and fresh vegetables to salads.
Breeding
Onions Centurion propagated in several ways:
- from seeds;
- from 40-50 day old seedlings;
- getting sowing.
The first two methods allow you to get an annual culture. This method of reproduction is applicable only in the southern regions, where the growing season lasts a long time.
Onion sets (two-year-old culture) are obtained by sowing nigella. It germinates for a long time, so before planting the material must be checked for germination and carefully selected: all seeds must be the same in size and shape, dry, black. So that chernushka grows better, it is recommended to soak it for a day in water at room temperature, then remove and dry it. You need to start sowing when the seeds become loose.
The culture is harvested after the feathers begin to dry and lie on the ground. For the next planting, choose small bulbs with a diameter of 1-2 cm. Larger seeds are not used.
Preparation for landing
To get a good crop, you need to select high-quality planting material. Sevk is less demanding to care, so it is suitable for growing onion turnips in large quantities.
Bulbs for planting should be dry, not rotten and in no case wet, without scratches and stains. The husk of each instance should rustle when fingered.
Sevoc can be disinfected with copper sulfate before planting. To prepare the composition, you need to dilute a teaspoon of the substance in a bucket of water.
Sowing should be planted in light and loose soil. The site where Centurion is planned to be planted should be well lit. It must be cleaned of weeds, then fertilizer (droppings, humus). If necessary, carry out measures to reduce the acidity of the soil. Peat or sand should be added to clay soil.
At the final stage, the site is dug up to a full bayonet of a shovel and level the ground. All these activities are performed in advance, in the fall, after harvesting.
Landing rules
Choosing the time for planting crops, you need to take into account the climatic features of the region. If the positive temperature is stable, then Centurion can be planted without fear of morning frost.
Transplanting
It is necessary to pay attention to such moments:
- when sowing onions in temperature conditions of +2 degrees, seedlings will appear in a month, sometimes they have to be expected even longer;
- at a temperature within + 14-15 degrees, the onion will rise in 14 days;
- sowing the crop at + 20-22 degrees guarantees the emergence of seedlings in a week.
Centurion onion seedlings have been planted in the soil since the second half of April. During this period, the temperature for the seedlings is comfortable, it is easier for them to acclimate to new conditions. Seedlings need to be placed in moist soil. The surface of the earth must be leveled with a rake. The distance between each row should be at least 30 cm. The depth of the furrow is 4-5 cm. Before moving the seedling into the ground, you need to dip its roots into the composition of manure and clay.
Each seedling should be placed at a distance of 15 cm from each other. It is not necessary to deepen the seedlings too much, just place it 1 cm down.
After planting all the seedlings, you need to cover the rows with soil.
Sevkom landing
If Centurion is grown from sevka, then it is recommended to be planted at the end of April. Gardeners do this in the evening, choosing a cloudy day.
Sevka, as well as seedlings of a hybrid variety, are planted in rows, between each of which there should be a distance of 20 cm. The bulbs prepared for planting should be located at a different distance between each instance. This indicator depends on the size of the set:
- if the diameter does not reach 1 cm, then there should be a distance of 5 cm between each onion;
- if the diameter of the set reaches 1.5 cm, then the indent will be 8 cm;
- specimens with a diameter of 2 cm or more are spaced 10 cm apart.
Deepen onions by 3 cm, cover with soil and mulch.
Crop care
Basic requirements for the care of Centurion onions:
Watering
The beds need to be regularly moistened during the growing season. This is necessary for leaf growth. Consumption - 8 liters per square meter. m. With the end of this period, watering should be reduced, and 20 days before harvesting, stop.
For watering, you need to use warm water. It must be done carefully so as not to damage the pen.
Weeding and cultivation
These measures improve air exchange, accelerate the process of cultural development. They need to be performed often - once a week or 10 days.
Weed removal
Pest plants retain moisture on the surface, which increases the risk of developing fungal diseases that adversely affect the state of the crop and yield.
Regular inspection of beds
It is necessary to monitor the state of culture in order to notice the appearance of pests or the development of onion diseases in time.
Top dressing
Centurion onions require not only proper care, but also fertilizer application. It should be borne in mind that you cannot use fertilizers of only one type, for example, organic or mineral.
An excess of organic matter contributes to the development of fungal diseases, due to which planting material rots directly in the soil. If you add too much mineral fertilizing, the culture will suffer from burns of the rhizome, which will negatively affect the taste of the crop. The most suitable feeding scheme is the alternation of mineral and organic fertilizers.
The first top dressing should be performed a week after the bulbs are planted in the ground. As fertilizer, you can use manure diluted in water or an organic complex.
Nitrogen (ammonium nitrate) is introduced in the spring, with 40% of its norm to be used before planting, and the rest - during the growing season, in 2-3 doses.
Potassium (potassium sulfate) is also needed for crop yields. The total volume should be divided into 2 parts, one of which is to be introduced into the soil in the autumn, before digging the site, and the second - during the growing season, dividing the fertilizing for two doses.
Phosphorus (granular superphosphate) is applied in the autumn before digging (up to 70% of the volume), and in the spring (30%) before planting.
Dry fertilizers are not recommended, it is necessary to prepare a solution from them.
Useful tips for growing onions Centurion
Tips from experienced Dutch hybrid gardeners:
- the culture does not need to be spudded; it is enough to loosen the earth around it;
- as the stem dries, you need to remove the roots and leaves, leaving up to 5 cm of a false stem;
- fresh manure is not recommended, as it attracts pests and inhibits the development of the crop;
- do not overexpose ripened bulbs, because secondary growth can occur;
- if infected plants are found, you need to remove them and burn them so that the disease does not spread to a healthy culture.
Pest and Disease Control
The most common onion disease Centurion is powdery mildew, which affects the leaves of a crop. The reason is high humidity. It is impossible to get rid of this disease, so you need to carefully monitor the landings and carry out such preventive measures:
- regular monitoring of leaf condition;
- planned treatment of culture with fungicides.
This onion variety is also susceptible to alternariosis. With this disease, old leaves are damaged, the young ones practically do not get sick. Spots appear on their surface, the edges of the leaves become brown. If the disease progresses, the leaf completely dies. To cope with the disease, you need to treat the culture with special compounds - fungicides.
Centurion is resistant to the most common onion diseases - cervical rot and peronosporosis.
The most common pests of the Dutch hybrid culture are onion moth and fly. These pests lay eggs under the upper onion flakes. Developing larvae fall deep into the onions and eat the flesh from the inside. Moth eats greens from the inside. Prevention measures: autumn digging of a site on a full bayonet of a shovel, early sowing. If pests have already settled on the beds, they need to be treated with special insecticide preparations.
Harvesting and storage
A signal to start harvesting is to stop the growth of new leaves. The most suitable time for harvesting Centurion onions is the second half of July. It is recommended to collect in hot and dry weather.
After collecting the bulbs, they must be laid out in a dry, well-ventilated, shaded area. They need to be turned over periodically.
You can store the crop for drying in the following ways:
- Laying in a circle. In this case, the bulbs should be outside, and the feathers should be inside the formed circle. The height should not exceed 50 cm. When laying onions, the contact of opposing leaves should be prevented. This way of laying allows the leaves to dry faster.
- Narrow long rows.
After the crop is completely dry, all copies need to be cleaned from the ground, as well as remove dry leaves. Each bulb must be carefully checked: it should not be moisture, scratches, mold or signs of decay.
Bulbs must be sorted into groups, depending on size:
- the smallest (with a diameter of up to 0.7 mm), not suitable for storage and used for planting in the soil in the fall;
- first class (7 mm-1.4 cm);
- second class (1.5 cm-2.2 cm);
- large (diameter 2.2 cm or more).
It is necessary to store the harvest in special storage facilities. The rooms must be ventilated. At home, onions can be folded in warm and dry places - in the attic or in the basement. It is also stored in boxes with holes, nylon nets, old stockings. Some gardeners store harvested onions in bags or boxes of sand, noting that it spoils less. Harvest can be stored in bulk.
If you follow the rules for storing onions, it successfully retains its external and taste for six months or more.
Onions of the Centurion variety are appreciated for its palatability, long-term storage and good transport tolerance. In order to achieve a high crop yield, it is necessary to properly prepare planting material and soil before planting, as well as to ensure proper care for the developing plant.