Effect of different varieties and planting time on the growth and yield of kharif onion in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh

An experiment was conducted in the adopted villages of Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh to study the effect of different varieties and planting time on the growth and yield of kharif onion. Two cultivars of onion namely Nasik Red and Agri Found Dark Red (AFDR) were transplanted four times at a regular interval of eight days from 7 to 30 July. Farmers fields (half acre) were selected and transplanting was done on raised beds of 15 x 10 cm. Crops were grown following appropriate scientific cultural practices. The data were recorded on bulb yield and bulb weight per plant and vertical bulb diameter after harvest of crop. The maximum bulb diameter (7.4 cm), bulb weight (92.59 g) and average yield (251.97 q/ha) were observed in AFDR. Also the highest bulb yield (221.04 q/ha) was noticed in third transplanting (T₃) in AFDR cultivar. Thus it could be concluded that AFDR cultivar with transplanting on 23 July was the best combination for the farmers of Shahdol district, Madhya Pradesh.