EFFECT OF NITROGEN AND INTRA ROW SPACING ON THE GROWTH AND VEGETATIVE YIELD OF ONION (Allium cepa L.) IN BAUCHI STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

Field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of Bauchi State College of Agriculture, Bauchi during the 2016 and 2017 dry seasons to determine the effect of different levels of nitrogen and intra row spacing on the growth and vegetative yield of onion. The treatments consisted of four levels of nitrogen (0, 45, 90 and 135kgN/ha) and intra row spacing (9, 13, 17 21cm), these were factorially combined to give 16 treatments combination and laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Data were collected on number of leaves, plant height, leaf area index, crop growth rate and net assimilation rate. All data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) was adopted in separating the means. The results of the experiment revealed a significant (P< 0.05) difference among the treatments. The results further indicated that, nitrogen and intra row spacing as well as their interaction, significantly (P< 0.01) affected number of leaves, plant height, number of leaves, leaf area index, crop growth rate and net assimilation rate. The result also showed that, application of nitrogen at the rate of 90 kgN/ha and intra row spacing of 9cm significantly (P< 0.05) performed better than the other treatments and all the treatments were better than the control. Based on the findings of this experiment, application of 90 kgN/ha to onion spaced at 21cm intra row spacing is recommended for improved onion production in the study area.