Abstract
To optimise water use and soil condition during dry season onion production in semiarid Nigeria, soil solarization with transparent polyethylene film was compared with organic mulches (groundnut shell, millet stover and sawdust) and a no-mulch control. With the exception of sawdust mulch, mulching significantly enhanced vegetative growth and bulb yields of onion. Solarization provides better soil coverage and therefore conserved more soil moisture and more than doubled the concentrations of NH 4 +-N and NO 3 −-N compared to other mulches and the control. Thus with soil solarization the total bulb yield of onion was 80% higher than with no mulching and 25% higher than the best organic mulch (groundnut shell).
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