The effects of different mulches on the yield and productivity of drip irrigated onions under tropical conditions.

2013

English

There are still a lot of gaps in knowledge on how different types of mulch from organic sources can be used to improve the sustainability of irrigated onion production; and this requires further investigation. An experiment was therefore set up at the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute Tamale, Ghana, to investigate the influence of mulching with different straw materials, on the yields and productivity of onions, variety ‘White Creole’. The trial comprised three treatments: No Mulch (T1), mulching with Andropogan grass straw (T2) and mulching with rice straw (T3) at three tonnes per hectare each. The experiment was conducted from April to mid-July 2010 (dry season) and repeated between February and May 2011, both under drip irrigation. The soil of the experimental field was categorised as sandy loam, with pH 5.8. The results of the trial indicated that different types of organic based mulch such as grass and rice straw could contribute significantly to improved onion productivity and yields under tropical conditions. Onion bulb yield of T2 (10.58 t-ha-1) was significant (P<0.05) and over 60% higher than T3 (6.63 t-ha-1); and over 230% greater than T1 plot yields (3.20`t-ha-1). Analysis of the economic returns of the mulching technologies revealed a benefit-cost ratio of 2.31 and marginal rate of returns of 140 for T2, suggesting that this technology is dominant over T3 or T1 technologies and is therefore recommendable to irrigated onion farmers.

Baba, I. I. Y.; Wiredu, A. N.; Yirzagla, J.; Mawunya, M.; Haruna, M.