SAMPLING PROCEDURES TO ESTIMATE FLAVOR POTENTIAL IN ONION

Twenty bulbs from each of 10 onion (Allium cepa L.) cultivars and one mass population were harvested from two locations and evaluated for three traits associated with flavor quality. Variance components for soluble solids content (SSC), pyruvic acid concentration (PAC), and percent S were calculated, and sampling schemes required to detect specific differences among treatment means were determined. In general, a rive-bulb sample and four replications were sufficient to detect desired differences for SSC and PAC, whereas percent S required a larger sample size and more replications.