Vidalia Onion and Vegetable

Our Work and Purpose

The Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center is located between Reidsville and Lyons in Toombs County on Highways 178 and 147. The facility is administered in five buildings on 3 acres of land owned by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Two 11-acre tracts on a long-term lease from the Georgia Forestry Commission provide researchers and staff land to conduct studies and educational demonstrations.

The center was established in 1999 primarily to provide research on Vidalia onions, and 6-7 acres of research plots have been devoted to this crop every year.

Researchers have developed a new pumpkin variety here that will enable south Georgia farmers to grow pumpkins commercially for the first time. In addition, fertility studies and variety trials have been conducted in corn, squash, cucumbers and pumpkins. Blackberries, strawberries, carrots, Brassica crops, garlic, shallots and artichokes have also been studied here, along with no-till and organic vegetable production and composting demonstrations.


Area Agent

Christopher Todd Tyson
Christopher Todd Tyson Area Onion Agent
Southeast District Vidalia Onion & Vegetable Research Center

Vidalia Onion Production Report 2020


Facility Location


Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center
8163 Highway 178
Lyons, GA 30436

Vidalia Onion News

internal rot CAES News
CAES leads $3.2M USDA grant to improve organic onion production
A team of researchers from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is partnering with colleagues from Texas A&M University to find more effective production practices for organic onion growers in the Southern United States. Bhabesh Dutta, associate professor in the UGA Department of Plant Pathology is leading the team over the next four years through a recently funded $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
UGA plant pathologist Bhabesh Dutta examines onion seedlings in research facilities on the UGA Tifton campus. CAES News
New “onion devourer” bacteria found by UGA researchers
University of Georgia researchers have identified a new species of bacteria, which they have named Pseudomonas alliivorans — from “allium vorans,” which translates as onion devourer or eater.
Georgia's Vidalia onions are available to purchase now. To keep their sweet taste around all year long, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension food safety experts say to store them in the freezer. CAES News
Stored properly Vidalia onions can still be around this winter
Georgia-grown Vidalia onions have hit the grocery and farmers market shelves. Farmers have been careful to handle the crop with kid gloves during the harvest. Now, consumers have to make sure to store them properly for long-term use.