Effect of irrigation on performance of late sown onion in calcareous soil

摘要

The main crop of onion is grown during rabi season in North India. But now a days, farmers have started growing onion in spring season also, for which seedlings are transplanted in February after the harvest of potato. During this period, the evaporative demand is high, which necessitates frequent irrigation to maintain soil moisture status for proper plant growth and bulb development. It has been noticed that 13 irrigations are required for better yield of onion crop (Anon, 1). Mandke and Arakeri (3) obtained the highest yield of normal sown onion when the crop was irrigated at weekly intervals with 5 cm depth. However, Narang and Dasthane (4) reported that onion crop requires 18 irrigations starting from transplanting to harvest. The above findings differ greatly in recommending the proper irrigation practices for onion. Therefore, an investigation was cafried out to evaluate the water requirement for late sown onion grown in calcareous soil of north Bihar.