| Peer-Reviewed

Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Mulch Levels on Growth, Yield and Water Productivity of Onion (Allium cepa L.) at Werer, Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia

Published in Plant (Volume 10, Issue 1)
Received: 31 December 2021    Accepted: 18 January 2022    Published: 28 January 2022
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Enhancing water productivity of irrigated crops through Agricultural water management is a vital option in water scarce areas, such as, Rift valley. Accordingly, a field experiment was conducted at Werer Agricultural Research Center to evaluate the effects of deficit irrigation and straw mulching levels on growth, yield and water productivity of onion (Allium cepa L.). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design in factorial arrangement of three levels of irrigation (100, 80 and 60% of Crop Evapotranspiration and four levels of straw mulch (0, 3, 6 and 9ton wheat straw per ha) in three replications. The output of Cropwat model indicated that the highest seasonal water requirement of onion was 422.5 mm at 100% ETc while; the lowest was 253.5 mm at 60% ETc. The analysis of variance revealed that there was significant (p<0.05) difference in growth parameters and yield parameters were highly significant (p<0.01) influenced by the interaction effects of deficit irrigation and straw mulch levels. The highest marketable bulb yield (33.47 t/ha) was obtained from an experimental plot treated with combined application of 100% of ETc and 6 t/ha straw mulch, while the lowest (21.10 t/ha) was obtained from plots treated with 60% ETc irrigation level and no mulch treatment. Water productivity was also highly significant (p<0.01) influenced by the interaction effects of deficit irrigation and straw mulching levels; the highest (10.22 kg/m3) and the lowest (6.11 kg/m3) were recorded from the plots treated with 60% ETc and 9 t/ha straw mulch, and 100% ETc and no mulch treatments, respectively. Therefore, in terms of marketable bulb yield and water productivity, irrigating with 80% ETc with 6 t/ha straw mulch would be recommended for production of onion in the study area.

Published in Plant (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.plant.20221001.14
Page(s) 26-35
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Deficit Irrigation, Evapotranspiration, Marketable Yield, Straw Mulching

References
[1] Adey Nigatu. 2006. Water use and yield response of drip-irrigated tomato to soil water depletion and mulching. M.Sc. Thesis, Haramaya University, Haramaya, Ethiopia.
[2] Ahmed, Z. I., M. Ansar, M. Iqbal and M. N. Minhas. 2007. Effect of planting geometry and mulching on moisture conservation, weed control and wheat growth under rainfed conditions. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 39 (4): 1189-1195.
[3] Allen, R., Pereira, L. A., Raes, D., Smith, M. 1998. Crop evapotranspiration guidelines for computing crop water requirements. Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56. FAO, Rome.
[4] Anissuzzaman. M., Ashrafuzzaman, M., Ismail, M. R., Uddin, M. K. and Rahim, M. A. 2009. Planting time and mulching effect on onion development and seed production. African Journal of Biotech, 8: 412-13.
[5] Bagali, A. N. 2012. Effect of scheduling of drip irrigation on growth, yield and water use efficiency of onion (Allium cepa L.). Indian Karnataka, Journal of Agricultural Science, 25 (1): 116-119.
[6] Bekele Samson and Tilahun Ketema. 2007. Regulated deficit irrigation scheduling of onion in a semi-arid region of Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural Water Management, 89: 148-152.
[7] Biswas, S. K., P. K., Sarker, A. K. M., Mazharulislam, M. A., Bhuyan., B. C. Kundu. 2003. Effect of irrigation onion production. Pakistan Journal Biology Science, 6 (20): 1725-1728.
[8] CSA (Central Statistical Agency). 2018. Agriculture sample survey. Central Statistical Agency. Report on Area and production of major Crops. vol. 1, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
[9] El-Noemani, A. A., Aboamera, A. A. and Dewedar, O. M. 2009. Growth, yield, quality and water use efficiency of pea plant as affected by evapotranspiration and sprinkler height. Journal of Agricultural Research, 34: 1445-1466.
[10] Fekadu Marame and Dandena Gelmesa. 2006. Review of the status of vegetable crops production and marketing in Ethiopia. Uganda Journal of Agricultural Sciences 12 (2): 26-30.
[11] Gobena Dirirsa, Abraham Woldemichael and Tilahun Hordofa, 2017. Effect of Deficit Irrigation at Different Growth Stages on Onion (Allium Cepa L.) Production and Water Productivity at Melkassa, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Academic Research Journal of Agricultural Science, 5 (5): 358-365.
[12] Habtamu Gudisa, M. 2017. Onion (Allium cepa L.) Yield Improvement Progress in Ethiopia: A Review. International Journal of Agriculture and Biosciences, 6 (5): 265-271.
[13] Habtie Honelign, 2007. Comparison of different Irrigation Scheduling Methods for Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) Production in Libo kemkem Woreda south Gondar Zone. MSc Thesis, Haramaya University, Haramaya, Ethiopia.
[14] Hillel, D. 2004. Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics: Elsevier Academic Press, USA.
[15] Ibrahim Mubarak and Altayeb Hamdan. 2018. Onion Crop response to regulated deficit irrigation under mulching in dry Mediterranean region. Journal of Horticultural Research, 26 (1): 87–94. DOI: 10.2478/johr-2018-0010.
[16] Igbadun, H. E., A. A. Ramalan and E. Oiganji. 2012. Effects of regulated deficit irrigation and mulch on yield, water use and crop water productivity of onion in Samaru, Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Water Management, 109: 162–169.
[17] Kumar, S., Imtiyaz, M., Kumar, A., Singh, R. 2007a. Response of onion (Allium cepa L.) to different levels of irrigation water. Agricultural Water Management, 88: 161- 166.
[18] Neeraja, G., K. M. Reddy, I. P. Reddy and Y. N. Reddy. 1999. Effect of irrigation and nitrogen on growth, yield and yield attributes of rabi onion (Allium cepa L.) in Andhra Pradesh. Vegetable Science, 26 (1): 64-68.
[19] Nigussie, A., Kuma, Y., Adisu, A., Alemu, T., Desalegn, K., 2015. Onion production for Income generation in Small Scale Irrigation users Agro-pastoral Households of Ethiopia. Journal of Horticulture: 1-5. Nkansah, G. O., Owusu, E. O., Bonsu, K. O. and Dennis, E. A. 2003. Effect of mulch type on the growth, yield and fruit quality of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill). Ghana Journal of Horticulture. 3: 55-64.
[20] Olalla, F. S., A. D. Padilla and R. Lopez. 2004. Production and quality of the onion crop (Allium cepa L.) cultivated under controlled deficit irrigation conditions in a semi-arid climate. Agricultural Water Management, 68: 77-89.
[21] Ramada, S. and Ramanathan, S. P. 2017. Evaluation of Drip Fertigation in Aerobic Rice-Onion Cropping System. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences, 6 (4): 2623-2628.
[22] Solomon Abate. 2004. Effects of irrigation frequency and plant population density on growth, yield components and yield of haricot bean in Dire Dawa area, MSc. Thesis, Department of Irrigation Engineering, Haramaya University, Ethiopia.
[23] Zayton, A. M. 2007. Effect of soil water stress on onion yield and quality in sandy soil. Journal of Agricultural Engineering, 24 (1): 141-160.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Kebede Nanesa Tufa, Yibekal Alemayehu Abebe, Fentaw Abegaz Ahmed. (2022). Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Mulch Levels on Growth, Yield and Water Productivity of Onion (Allium cepa L.) at Werer, Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia. Plant, 10(1), 26-35. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20221001.14

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Kebede Nanesa Tufa; Yibekal Alemayehu Abebe; Fentaw Abegaz Ahmed. Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Mulch Levels on Growth, Yield and Water Productivity of Onion (Allium cepa L.) at Werer, Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia. Plant. 2022, 10(1), 26-35. doi: 10.11648/j.plant.20221001.14

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Kebede Nanesa Tufa, Yibekal Alemayehu Abebe, Fentaw Abegaz Ahmed. Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Mulch Levels on Growth, Yield and Water Productivity of Onion (Allium cepa L.) at Werer, Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia. Plant. 2022;10(1):26-35. doi: 10.11648/j.plant.20221001.14

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.plant.20221001.14,
      author = {Kebede Nanesa Tufa and Yibekal Alemayehu Abebe and Fentaw Abegaz Ahmed},
      title = {Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Mulch Levels on Growth, Yield and Water Productivity of Onion (Allium cepa L.) at Werer, Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia},
      journal = {Plant},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {26-35},
      doi = {10.11648/j.plant.20221001.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20221001.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.plant.20221001.14},
      abstract = {Enhancing water productivity of irrigated crops through Agricultural water management is a vital option in water scarce areas, such as, Rift valley. Accordingly, a field experiment was conducted at Werer Agricultural Research Center to evaluate the effects of deficit irrigation and straw mulching levels on growth, yield and water productivity of onion (Allium cepa L.). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design in factorial arrangement of three levels of irrigation (100, 80 and 60% of Crop Evapotranspiration and four levels of straw mulch (0, 3, 6 and 9ton wheat straw per ha) in three replications. The output of Cropwat model indicated that the highest seasonal water requirement of onion was 422.5 mm at 100% ETc while; the lowest was 253.5 mm at 60% ETc. The analysis of variance revealed that there was significant (p3) and the lowest (6.11 kg/m3) were recorded from the plots treated with 60% ETc and 9 t/ha straw mulch, and 100% ETc and no mulch treatments, respectively. Therefore, in terms of marketable bulb yield and water productivity, irrigating with 80% ETc with 6 t/ha straw mulch would be recommended for production of onion in the study area.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Mulch Levels on Growth, Yield and Water Productivity of Onion (Allium cepa L.) at Werer, Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia
    AU  - Kebede Nanesa Tufa
    AU  - Yibekal Alemayehu Abebe
    AU  - Fentaw Abegaz Ahmed
    Y1  - 2022/01/28
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20221001.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.plant.20221001.14
    T2  - Plant
    JF  - Plant
    JO  - Plant
    SP  - 26
    EP  - 35
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2331-0677
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20221001.14
    AB  - Enhancing water productivity of irrigated crops through Agricultural water management is a vital option in water scarce areas, such as, Rift valley. Accordingly, a field experiment was conducted at Werer Agricultural Research Center to evaluate the effects of deficit irrigation and straw mulching levels on growth, yield and water productivity of onion (Allium cepa L.). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design in factorial arrangement of three levels of irrigation (100, 80 and 60% of Crop Evapotranspiration and four levels of straw mulch (0, 3, 6 and 9ton wheat straw per ha) in three replications. The output of Cropwat model indicated that the highest seasonal water requirement of onion was 422.5 mm at 100% ETc while; the lowest was 253.5 mm at 60% ETc. The analysis of variance revealed that there was significant (p3) and the lowest (6.11 kg/m3) were recorded from the plots treated with 60% ETc and 9 t/ha straw mulch, and 100% ETc and no mulch treatments, respectively. Therefore, in terms of marketable bulb yield and water productivity, irrigating with 80% ETc with 6 t/ha straw mulch would be recommended for production of onion in the study area.
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Natural Resource Management, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • College Natural Resource Management and Environmental Science, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia

  • Natural Resource Management, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Sections