Impact of sulfur levels on the growth and yield of winter onion in level barind tract of Bangladesh

Abstract

A field experiment on onion (cv. BARI Piaz-1) was conducted at the Spices Research Centre, Shibganj, Bogura, from October 2018 to March 2019–19 to assess the influence of sulfur (S) levels on onion growth and yield. Five sulfur levels, viz. 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 kg ha^-1 were employed in the RCBD trial and replicated thrice. Various S concentrations substantially influenced plant height, number of leaves per plant, bulb diameter and bulb production. Application of 30 kg S ha^-1 resulted in maximum plant height (50.57 cm), number of leaves plant^-1 (7.68) at 75 days after transplanting (DAT), bulb diameter (5.24 cm), bulb yield (12.9 t ha^-1) and marginal benefit-cost ratio (MBCR) (12.77). From the regression curve, the optimum level of S for the desired yield was determined to be 45 kg S ha^-1. Therefore, it may be recommended that application of sulfur @ 45 kg ha^-1 along with a blanket dose of 100-50-75-4-1.5 kg ha^-1 of N-P-K-Zn-B and cowdung 5 tha^-1 for the production of onion bulbs in the agro-ecological zone (AEZ-25) (Level Barind Tract) of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 49(3): 293-303, September 2024