Yeshiwas Yebirzaf, Alemayehu Melkamu, Adgo Enyew
College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 28;14(1):30729. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-79490-0.
Onion is the most important and widely cultivated cash-generating crop in Ethiopia. Onion production is limited by several factors, and its production and productivity are low. Among the many contributing factors, a lack of improved cultivars and improper plant density are the major limiting factors. This study addressed the critical challenges of onion cultivation in Ethiopia, with a focus on the impact of planting density and onion cultivar. Three hybrid onion cultivars and one open-pollinated onion cultivar were evaluated at three testing sites (Koga, Woramit and Woreta) under irrigated conditions in 2021/2022 via a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results of the present study revealed that the growth and yield of onion plants were influenced by the main effects of plant density and onion cultivar across locations. The Russet and Jambar hybrid cultivar, which had a relatively high plant density, exhibited superior performance across all locations. They consistently presented the highest values for bulb diameter, average bulb weight, harvest index, firmness, total bulb yield and marketable bulb yield across all locations. The marketable bulb yield was positively correlated with the bulb weight and bulb diameter of the onion. The Russet (28.09 t ha) and Jambar (26.61 t ha) cultivars presented the highest marketable bulb yields and were generally superior in terms of most of the growth, yield and quality parameters. The highest marketable bulb yield (28.42 t ha) was recorded for the onion cultivars in the higher plant population (666,666 plants ha), in which the spacing was 5 cm × 20 cm × 40 cm between plants, rows and double rows. Accordingly, the use of hybrid onion cultivars (Russet and Jambar) along with higher plant populations (5 cm between plants × 20 cm between rows × 40 cm between double rows) enhances the productivity of onion in the study area and areas with similar agroecology. Since this study was the first of its kind in the study area, it is advisable to consider other hybrid onion cultivars with relatively high plant densities.
洋葱是埃塞俄比亚最重要且种植最广泛的经济作物。洋葱生产受到多种因素限制，其产量和生产率较低。在众多影响因素中，缺乏改良品种和种植密度不当是主要限制因素。本研究针对埃塞俄比亚洋葱种植的关键挑战，重点关注种植密度和洋葱品种的影响。2021/2022年，在灌溉条件下，通过随机完全区组设计（三次重复），在三个试验地点（科加、沃拉米特和沃雷塔）对三个杂交洋葱品种和一个开放授粉洋葱品种进行了评估。本研究结果表明，不同地点的洋葱植株生长和产量受种植密度和洋葱品种主效应的影响。种植密度相对较高的赤褐色和詹巴尔杂交品种在所有地点均表现出优异性能。在所有地点，它们的鳞茎直径、平均鳞茎重量、收获指数、硬度、总鳞茎产量和可销售鳞茎产量始终呈现最高值。可销售鳞茎产量与洋葱的鳞茎重量和直径呈正相关。赤褐色品种（28.09吨/公顷）和詹巴尔品种（26.61吨/公顷）的可销售鳞茎产量最高，在大多数生长、产量和品质参数方面总体表现更优。在较高种植密度（666,666株/公顷）的洋葱品种中，记录到最高可销售鳞茎产量（28.42吨/公顷），其中植株、行与双行之间的间距分别为5厘米×20厘米×40厘米。因此，在研究区域及具有相似农业生态的地区，使用杂交洋葱品种（赤褐色和詹巴尔）以及较高种植密度（植株间距5厘米×行距20厘米×双行间距40厘米）可提高洋葱的生产率。鉴于本研究是该研究区域的首次此类研究，建议考虑其他种植密度相对较高的杂交洋葱品种。
