Effect of Biofertilizers and Chemical Fertilizers on Growth, Yield and Quality of Onion (Allium cepa L.)

A field experiment conducted during the 2022–2023 rabi season (Nov-April) at DAV University, Jalandhar (Punjab) aimed to assess the impact of biofertilizers and chemical fertilizers on onion growth, yield, and quality. Variety PRO 7 was selected for the study. Eleven treatments viz., T₁ (Control), T₂ (NPK 100%), T₃ (NPK 50%), T₄ (Azotobacter 100%), T₅ (Azospirillium 100%), T₆ (VAM 100%), T₇ (NPK 50%+Azotobacter 50%), T₈ (NPK 50%+Azospirillium 50%), T₉ (NPK 50%+VAM 50%), T₁₀ (NPK 50%+Azotobacter 50%+Azospirillium 50%), T₁₁ (NPK 50%+Azotobacter 50%+Azospirillium 50%+VAM 50%) were arranged in a randomized block design with three replicatesThe result of experiment showed that T₁₀ (NPK 50%+Azotobacter 50%+Azospirillium 50%) consistently exhibited superior performance, showcasing substantial improvements in crucial variables such as the number of leaves plant^-1, number of rings bulb^-1, plant height, chlorophyll a content, chlorophyll b content, and total chlorophyll content. While, T₁₁ showed maximum bulb yield plot^-1 and ha^-1, as well as elevated levels of ascorbic acid and chlorophyll b. T₉ displayed significant advancements in growth and quality parameters, including plant height, neck thickness, and total chlorophyll content and T₆ showed maximum TSS (°Brix) content in onion. The economic analysis conducted as part of this study revealed that T₁₁ yielded the highest gross income, net income, and benefit-cost ratio.