Wageningen research enables faster development of new resilient varieties. Researchers from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) have unraveled the onion genome. This will speed up the ability of plant breeders to develop new onion varieties that are resistant to conditions such as drought, and meet the world's growing demand for onions. "Assembling the pieces was a considerable puzzle," says plant breeding researcher Richard Finkers. "Because the onion genome is huge: about sixteen times larger than the tomato genome, and five times larger than that of humans."