Influence of fertilizer and weed management practices on yield, economics and post-harvest soil properties of onion (Allium cepa L.)

A field experiment was carried out during rabi season (September-March) of 2017-18 and 2018-19 at the experimental plot of RRTTS, OUAT, Keonjhar, Odisha to evaluate the nutrient and weed management practices on performance of onion. Fifteen treatmentswere designed in a split plot design. Among all the treatments, the maximum plant height was recorded in N₃W₄ (56.29 cm) which was closely followed by N₃W₃ (55.97 cm), number of leaves plant^-1 was higher in N₃W₃ (12.47) significantly which was closely followed by N₂W₄ (12.33) and N₂W₃ (12.00) and maximum neck thickness was recorded in N₁W₂ (1.39 cm). Among yield parameters, the average bulb weight of onion ranges from 33.56 g (N₁W₂) to 87.6 g (N₂W₃) while, the highest bulb yields of onion (17.37 and 20.40 t ha^-1) was recorded for the treatment which to be exact was applied with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @ 0.8 l ha^-1 supplement with one hand weeding at 25 DAT with B:C ratio of 1.84 and 1.76 for the year 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively. Similarly, the treatment combination of N₂W₃ i.e. application of 50% STBFR along with 50% FYM based on N requirement and pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @ 0.8 l ha^-1 +onehand weeding at 25 DAT) was recorded the highest. The available nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and sulphur content (284.67 kg ha^-1, 14.83 kg ha^-1, 97.43 kg ha^-1 and 11.40 kg ha^-1) in the post-harvest soil was recorded highest with the treatment N₂W₃.