Effect of Irrigation Frequency on Growth Parameters, Yield, Quality and Storability of Onion (Allium cepa L.) in the Guinea Savannah Zone

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The research was conducted to determine the effect of irrigation frequency on the yield, quality and storability of the ‘Bawku Red’ onion in the Guinea Savannah Zone of Ghana. Four treatments (daily irrigation in the morning, MD; daily in the morning and evening, MED; morning and evening on alternate days, MEAD; and daily in the evening, ED) were used for the experiment. These were replicated four times and arranged using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Data were collected on yield of marketable and unmarketable bulbs, equatorial diameter and height of bulbs, number of marketable and unmarketable bulbs and number of bulbs rotten after storage. The data were analyzed using Genstat and Microsoft Excel. Results of the experiment indicated that there were significant differences among the treatments in terms of yield of marketable and unmarketable bulbs, equatorial diameter and number of unmarketable bulbs. No significant differences were however observed in terms height of bulbs, number of marketable bulbs and number of bulbs rotten after storage. MED performed optimally in almost all the parameters studied, followed by MEAD. MED is thus recommended for adoption due to scarcity of water, especially in the dry season. It is also recommended that similar studies should be conducted to determine the effect of irrigation frequency on the yield of other varieties of onion.