Abstract

---

The demand for onion is increasing worldwide. It is used both in raw and mature bulb stage as vegetable and spice. There is a general concept that onion cannot be cultivated in Kerala conditions and the only way is to purchase it from market. It is a wrong concept. Even though onion is a cool season crop we can now cultivate onion in homesteads, kitchen gardens and also in roof tops due to the availability of those varieties, which can perform better in our climatic conditions. Three months from November-December or March to April is the best season for onion cultivation in Kerala. Successful onion production depends on the selection of varieties that are adapted to different climatic conditions imposed by specific environment. No systematic study has been conducted to assess the suitability of onion cultivation in Kollam district of Kerala, for which standardization of varieties is of immense utility. Hence, the present experiment was conducted to study the response of some improved varieties of onion (Allium cepa L. var. cepa) for their suitability for cultivation in Kollam district of Kerala. The investigation was carried out by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kollam during 2013-2014 to assess the performance of onion varieties in Kollam district under scientific management practices. Three high yielding onion varieties were tested with seven replications. Different treatments included onion variety Agrifound Dark Red (T₁), onion variety N53 (T₂), onion variety Arka Kalyan (T₃) in replications of seven farmer fields. The results revealed that highest plant height (38.6 cm) was reported from onion variety N53 and the lowest by Agrifound Dark Red (35.2 cm). Similarly onion variety Arka Kalyan registered maximum number of leaves (15.4) and the lowest by N53 (10.4). The highest bulb yield of 8.2 t ha^-1 was obtained from the cultivar Agrifound Dark Red and the lowest bulb yield was reported from N 53. Highest B:C Ratio (1.67) was reported from cultivation of onion variety Agrifound Dark Red and the lowest from N 53 (1.2). It was concluded from the study that onion variety Agrifound Dark Red had better performance in the trial and is recommended for cultivation in Kollam district.

---