Background: The production of seeds for horticultural crops has seen a steady growth since\n2006. Onion is one of the most widespread crops that followed this trend until 2013, undergoing a\nslight decline in 2016. Even though these crops are characterized by high economic value, they present\nsome important issues such as high costs and labor required by some operations such as threshing.\nThe purpose of this study is the evaluation of a patented and dedicated system for mechanical\nthreshing throughout the evaluation of seed quality parameters. Methods: The study was conducted\ncomparing seed samples mechanically threshed obtained from 12 companies and samples of the same\nbatches manually threshed to determine the maximum qualitative potential. The chosen terms for\ncomparison are the most important qualitative parameters included within ISTA standards for seed\nevaluation. Results: The mechanically threshed seeds show lower values for all the considered quality\nparameters compared to those found in the control samples. In the same way, there is also greater\nvariability. Conclusions: The introduction of the dedicated mechanical systems allows the reduction\nof seed processing time while maintaining the quality standards within the limits of merchantability,\nbut for obtaining higher standards, further analysis is necessary
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