ALBANY - Chilly temperatures and plant diseases have delayed the planting of Georgia's sweet Vidalia onion crop, but there's also some good news about the ballyhooed bulbs. <br>
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Growers had the option of choosing from seven new varieties during the current planting season, which runs from November through December. <br>
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It takes a special onion to meet the sweet Vidalia standards. <br>
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The new ones survived years of testing. They were grown experimentally, subjected to chemical analysis, poked and measured and they had to pass the ultimate test a panel of scientifically trained taste testers. <br>
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University of Georgia scientists and crop specialists test about 30 onions a year at the 25-acre Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center, which straddles the Tattnall and Toombs County line in the heart of onion country. <br>
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