Influence of Plant Density and Fertilization on the Growth and Seed Yield of Bunching Onion (Allium fistulosum L.)

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at the Horticulture farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during the period from November 2020 to April 2021 to study the influence of plant density and fertilization on the growth and seed yield of bunching onion. The experiment consisted of three levels of spacing (Viz. S1= 20 cm x 10 cm, S2= 20 cm x 15 cm, S3= 20 cm x 20 cm) and four levels of fertilizers (Viz. F0= No Application (control), F1= N57.5kgP66kgK45kgS10kgV6t/ha,   F2= N57.5kgP66kgK45kgS10kg PM6t/ha, F3= N115kgP132kgK90kgS20kgV3tPM3t/ha). The two-factor experiment was carried out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications and 12 treatments. Growth and yield of bunching onion were influenced by the different spacing. The S3 treatment resulted in the highest number of leaves (8.16), dry matter content in leaves (10.098%), number of seeds per umbel (496.56), thousand seed weight (3.64g). The maximum seed yield per hectare (1065 kg) was observed from S1 treatment. Different levels of fertilizer had also significant influence on yield of bunching onion. The highest number of leaves (8.80), thousand seed weight (4.08g) and seed yield per hectare (1056.3 kg) were found from the F3 treatment. The highest seed yield (1260 kg/ha) with net income (Tk.699991.4) and BCR (2.26) were observed from S1F3 treatment combination, while the lowest seed yield (700.2 kg/ha) with net income (Tk.258214.25) and BCR (1.56) were observed from S3F0 treatment combination. So, economic analysis revealed that the S1F3 treatment combination appeared to the best for achieving the higher yield and economic benefit of bunching onion.