Integrated nutrient approaches for maximizing growth, yield and quality in onion (Allium cepa L.) cv. Bhima Kiran

Abstract

A field trial was carried out during the rabi crop cycle of 2023 to assess the effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, yield and quality of onion (Allium cepa L.) cv. Bhima Kiran at Horticulture Research Farm-1 of the Department of Horticulture, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow (U.P.). The experiment was implemented using a randomized block design (RBD) at a spacing of 20 cm × 10 cm with three replications in sandy loam soil with an alkaline pH of 8.5. The evaluation encompassed ten blends of inorganic (N, P and K), organic (FYM) and bio-based fertilizers (phosphorous solubilizing bacteria). From the experiment, it was witnessed that the implementation of 75% RDF + 25% FYM (T7) yielded significantly loftier growth characteristics like tallness of the plant (cm), leaf count, foliage length (cm) and neck diameter of the plant (mm) as compared to other treatments, while the minimum values were obtained from treatment T0 (control). The yield attributes like number of bulbs harvested per plot, bulb output per plot (Kg), bulb size (cm), bulb neck thickness (cm), mean bulb weight (g), fresh bulb production (q/ha) and scale count per bulb were at their maximum in treatment T7 (75% RDF + 255 FYM), while the minimum values were obtained in treatment T0 (control). Similar trends were followed for quality attributes like T.S.S. (0Brix), ascorbic acid (mg/100g) and pH estimation, respectively.