Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Mulched Drip-Irrigated Onion in Low Land Region of Amhara, North Central Ethiopia

Abstract

The use of available water by reducing all forms of losses is a key to maximize crop yield per unit supplied in dry areas. In this study an attempt was made to investigate the influence of drip irrigation and mulching material on the yield and water use efficiency of onion in low land region of north central Ethiopia. The experimental design was split plot embedded in randomized complete block design, replicated three times with three irrigation levels as main plot and three mulching rates as sub plot. The drip irrigation level consisted of full irrigation (FIL), mid irrigation (MIL) and half irrigation (HIL) levels determined using CROPWAT model. A control plot and mulching material of dry teff (Eragrostics abyssinica) straw with 0.3kg/m 2 , 0.5kg/m 2 rates were applied to reduce surface evaporation loss. Total marketable onions were significantly affected by both irrigation level and mulching rate. MIL performs best in yield and this is especially effective for mulching rate of 0.3 kg/m 2 . With all forms used to avoid irrigation water losses from the farm (drip irrigation in combination with surface mulching), it was found that on average 1000 litres of water was used to produce 4.56 kg of marketable onion.