Abstract
Field experiments were conducted during rabi season of 2018 and summer season of 2019 at farmer’s field, western zone of Tamil Nadu at Pattiyarkovilpathy, Theethipalayam and Narasipuram villages of Thondamuthur block of Coimbatore district. Totally five treatments comprising of varied CuSO 4 levels (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 & 10.0 kg ha-1) were replicated four times in a randomized block design under irrigated conditions. The results showed that, fresh mean bulb yield of onion in four locations ranged from 12.4 to 15.6 t ha-1. The highest mean bulb yield of 15.6 t ha-1 was registered with recommended NPK+5 kg CuSO4 ha-1 and the lowest mean bulb yield of 12.4 t ha-1 was recorded in NPK control with no CuSO 4 addition. Dry Matter Production ranged from 1065 to 1199 kg ha-1. The highest DMP of 1199 kg ha-1 was recorded in the treatment that was applied with NPK+5 kg CuSO4 ha-1 and the lowest DMP (1065 kg ha-1) was noticed with NPK control. Concerning copper content in bulb and foliage, it ranged from 6.09 to 12.3 and 8.46 to 13.7 mg kg-1 with the location mean of 6.16 to 12.0 mg kg-1 and 7.61 to 11.1 mg kg-1, respectively. Copper uptake in bulb and sheath varied from 7.05 to 18.3 and 6.26 to 11.0 g ha-1 (mean of 8.55 to 12.3 and 6.52 to 10.4 g ha-1), respectively with a total uptake of 14.1 to 27.6 g ha-1. In both bulb and foliage, Cu content and uptake, increased with increasing doses of CuSO 4 and the highest Cu content and uptake was registered with the application of CuSO4 @ 10.0 kg ha-1. Regarding the availability of copper in soil, it ranged from 0.73 to 2.42 mg kg-1 and increasing levels of CuSO4 application increased the DTPA Cu status in soil and application of 10.0 kg CuSO 4 ha-1 recorded the highest copper availability in soil. Quality parameters viz., TSS, titrable acidity and ascorbic acid varied from 10.25 to 14.08 oBrix, 0.28 to 0.61% and 12.9 to 20.1 (100 g-1FW), respectively. Field experiments conducted to optimize the rates of copper sulfate application to improve the yield and quality of aggregatum onion in four locations at Coimbatore district, showed that, soil application of 5 kg CuSO4 along with recommended NPK @ 60:30:30 kg ha-1 was found optimal for obtaining higher bulb yield (15.6 t ha-1) and better quality in aggregatum onion with a BC ratio of 4.63.
Highlights
Onion (Allium cepa L.), belonging to the family Alliaceae, is one of the most important and popular vegetable spice crops cultivated worldwide (Mishra et al, 2013)
Among the various factors affecting the yield of onion, adequate and balanced nutrient management plays a major role to optimising the quality and quantity of harvested plant products (Lakshmi and Sekhar, 2018)
Relevant Field experiments were conducted to optimize the dose of copper sulfate for aggragaum onion to increase the yield and quality under irrigated conditions
Summary
Onion (Allium cepa L.), belonging to the family Alliaceae, is one of the most important and popular vegetable spice crops cultivated worldwide (Mishra et al, 2013). Lack of micronutrients addition in the balanced fertilization schedule is one of the important causes for low yield and quality (Lata Shukla et al, 2015). Among the various factors affecting the yield of onion, adequate and balanced nutrient management plays a major role to optimising the quality and quantity of harvested plant products (Lakshmi and Sekhar, 2018). Among all the essential nutrients, micronutrients viz., Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B and Mo are important for the optimal growth and productivity of the plants. Though these elements are required in small amounts, they are very important for plant development and for profitable crop production because they act as activators of many plant functions. The present research was undertaken to optimize the dose of copper sulfate for increasing the productivity and quality of onion
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