Performance Evaluation of Onion Varieties at Biyo Awale Cluster in Diredawa Administration

Abstract

Onion (<i>Allium cepa</i> L.) is an important crop worldwide. It is important in the daily Ethiopian diet. It is widely produced by small farmers and commercial growers throughout the year for local use and export market. No strong study has been conducted to evaluate the suitability of onion cultivation in Biyo Awale district of Diredawa. Hence, the present experiment was conducted to study the performance of improved varieties of onion for their suitability for cultivation in Biyo Awale district of Diredawa. The study was carried out during 2018-2019 cropping season to test the performance of onion varieties. Five high yielding onion varieties were planted in complete randomized block design experiment with three replications including local check at farmer’s field. The quantitative data on bulb yield, plant height, bulb size and number of leaves of onion varieties were collected. Harvesting was done and weighed when all onion varieties reach maturity (90% tops down). The results revealed that the tested onion varieties differ significantly for leaf length, leaf number, neck diameter, bulb diameter, average bulb weight and bulb yield. Among the varieties Bombay red and Melkam produced higher bulb yield (25.56 and 21.13 t ha^-1) and gave 140.68% and 98.96% yield advantage over local check varieties, respectively. Therefore, Bombay Red and Melkam varieties were recommended to the study area and similar agro-ecology.