Onion (Allium cepa L.) bulb yield in low input production systems can be sustained through combined application of chicken manure and blended fertilizer

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of onion to different rates of chicken manure (CM) and blended fertilizer (BF) on growth and bulb yield at Jimma, Southwestern Ethiopia during the 2017/18 cropping season. Treatments consisted of four rates of CM (no CM, 5, 10 and 15 t ha- 1) and four rates of BF (no BF, 62.5, 125.0 and 187.5 kg ha−1) and laid out in 4 × 4 factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Data on growth and bulb yield of onion were collected and analyzed using SAS version 9.3. Results showed that application of 15 t ha−1 CM + 125 kg ha−1 BF resulted in significantly (p < 0.05) desirable onion bulb characteristics such as larger bulb neck diameter (1.6 cm)bulb diameter (6.7 cm) and higher bulb dry weight (26.05 g plant−1). In addition, aboveground dry biomass weight (4.67 g plant−1), harvest index (84.79%), marketable bulb yield (37.34 t ha−1) and total bulb yield (37.86 t ha−1) were significantly influenced by the combined application of CM and BF suggesting that that productivity of onion can be improved through combined application of CM with BF. We conclude that combined application of CM along with BF could improve soil fertility and productivity of low input onion production systems.