engleski

Effect of fertilization on onion growth, yield and storage

The area of the Gornja Poljica is located between the Mosor Mountain and the Cetina River, where traditional onions are grown. In this area, onions are cultivated for reproductive planting material (onion seeds) as well as for onion bulb production, but domestic ecotypes are suppressed by the introduced planting material. The aim was to determine the influence of fertilization on morphological properties, yield, phenolics and storage of domestic ecotypes and the introduced onion cultivar. The experiment with two local onion ecotypes, Dolačka white and Dolačka yellow and cultivar Stuttgarter was set up on April 17 in the area of Srijane (N43.513757 ; E16.734796). The onion sets were planted in non-fertilized soil, fertilized with organic and mineral fertilizer. The harvest was carried out on July 27, based on external indicators of maturity (leaf yellowing and stem lodging). The height and onion leaf number were influenced by both factors (genotype and fertilization) on the 70th day after planting. Mineral fertilization significantly influenced plant height except for ecotype Dolačka white grown on non-fertilizer soil (control). Applied fertilization did not affected leaves number of cultivar Stuttgarter. Mineral fertilization significantly influenced the mass of bulbs, while marketable yield was higher compared to non-fertilized soil. Ecotype Dolačka yellow achieved a higher yield (2.15 kg/m2) than cultivar Stuttgarter (1.68 kg/m2). Cv. Stuttgarter produced significantly more phenolic compounds under both organic and mineral treatment, while Dolačka white had significant less phenolic compounds in both mineral and control treatment. During the 48 days of storage, the lowest weight loss was recorded at mineral fertilization (2.62%) and ecotype Dolačka yellow (2.2%) compared to other treatments. Local onion ecotype Dolačka yellow under mineral fertilization had higher marketable yield and storage performance than the introduced cultivar Stuttgarter in Srijane agro-ecological condition.

fertilization, cultivar, yield, storage

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