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Characterization of Soil Nutrient Management and Post-harvest Handling Practices for Onion Production in the Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia

Received: 21 June 2013     Published: 20 September 2013
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Abstract

Onion is an important cash crop for smallholder farmers in the Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia. A survey was conducted during the off-season of 2011 to document nutrient management and post-harvest handling practices in onion production in four districts (Adama, Merti, Dugda Bora and Adamitulu-Jiddokombolcha) in the region. Data were collected from 128 farmers using a standard questionnaire and focus group discussions. The results revealed that all of the sampled smallholder onion growing farmers used Diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea whilst only 10.9% and 5.5% used farmyard manure (FYM) and compost, respectively. The growers on average used 298.8 kg ha-1 Urea and 299.21 kg DAP ha-1. Only small amounts of farmyard manure (1.71 t ha-1) and compost (1.56 t ha-1) were applied by the onion growers. The data also showed that farmers did not practise curing and storing of onion bulbs, and sold the produce on the field during harvest at farm-gate prices. In conclusion, the results of the study revealed that farmers in the region produce onions with application of higher rates of inorganic mineral NP fertilizers than the rates commonly recommended by the research system. The results also showed that the farmers did not subject harvested onion bulbs to any post-harvest management practices for enhancing shelf-life and marketability of the crop.

Published in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 2, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.aff.20130205.12
Page(s) 184-195
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Inorganic Fertilizers, Farmyard Manure, Organic Fertilizer, Soil Fertility Management

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Cite This Article
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    Negasi Tekeste A., Nigussie Dechassa R., Kebede Woldetsadik, Lemma Dessalegne, Abuhay Takele. (2013). Characterization of Soil Nutrient Management and Post-harvest Handling Practices for Onion Production in the Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 2(5), 184-195. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20130205.12

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    ACS Style

    Negasi Tekeste A.; Nigussie Dechassa R.; Kebede Woldetsadik; Lemma Dessalegne; Abuhay Takele. Characterization of Soil Nutrient Management and Post-harvest Handling Practices for Onion Production in the Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia. Agric. For. Fish. 2013, 2(5), 184-195. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20130205.12

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    AMA Style

    Negasi Tekeste A., Nigussie Dechassa R., Kebede Woldetsadik, Lemma Dessalegne, Abuhay Takele. Characterization of Soil Nutrient Management and Post-harvest Handling Practices for Onion Production in the Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia. Agric For Fish. 2013;2(5):184-195. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20130205.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.aff.20130205.12,
      author = {Negasi Tekeste A. and Nigussie Dechassa R. and Kebede Woldetsadik and Lemma Dessalegne and Abuhay Takele},
      title = {Characterization of Soil Nutrient Management and Post-harvest Handling Practices for Onion Production in the Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia},
      journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
      volume = {2},
      number = {5},
      pages = {184-195},
      doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20130205.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20130205.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20130205.12},
      abstract = {Onion is an important cash crop for smallholder farmers in the Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia. A survey was conducted during the off-season of 2011 to document nutrient management and post-harvest handling practices in onion production in four districts (Adama, Merti, Dugda Bora and Adamitulu-Jiddokombolcha) in the region. Data were collected from 128 farmers using a standard questionnaire and focus group discussions. The results revealed that all of the sampled smallholder onion growing farmers used Diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea whilst only 10.9% and 5.5% used farmyard manure (FYM) and compost, respectively. The growers on average used 298.8 kg ha-1 Urea and 299.21 kg DAP ha-1. Only small amounts of farmyard manure (1.71 t ha-1) and compost (1.56 t ha-1) were applied by the onion growers. The data also showed that farmers did not practise curing and storing of onion bulbs, and sold the produce on the field during harvest at farm-gate prices. In conclusion, the results of the study revealed that farmers in the region produce onions with application of higher rates of inorganic mineral NP fertilizers than the rates commonly recommended by the research system. The results also showed that the farmers did not subject harvested onion bulbs to any post-harvest management practices for enhancing shelf-life and marketability of the crop.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Characterization of Soil Nutrient Management and Post-harvest Handling Practices for Onion Production in the Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia
    AU  - Negasi Tekeste A.
    AU  - Nigussie Dechassa R.
    AU  - Kebede Woldetsadik
    AU  - Lemma Dessalegne
    AU  - Abuhay Takele
    Y1  - 2013/09/20
    PY  - 2013
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20130205.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.aff.20130205.12
    T2  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JF  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JO  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    SP  - 184
    EP  - 195
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5648
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20130205.12
    AB  - Onion is an important cash crop for smallholder farmers in the Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia. A survey was conducted during the off-season of 2011 to document nutrient management and post-harvest handling practices in onion production in four districts (Adama, Merti, Dugda Bora and Adamitulu-Jiddokombolcha) in the region. Data were collected from 128 farmers using a standard questionnaire and focus group discussions. The results revealed that all of the sampled smallholder onion growing farmers used Diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea whilst only 10.9% and 5.5% used farmyard manure (FYM) and compost, respectively. The growers on average used 298.8 kg ha-1 Urea and 299.21 kg DAP ha-1. Only small amounts of farmyard manure (1.71 t ha-1) and compost (1.56 t ha-1) were applied by the onion growers. The data also showed that farmers did not practise curing and storing of onion bulbs, and sold the produce on the field during harvest at farm-gate prices. In conclusion, the results of the study revealed that farmers in the region produce onions with application of higher rates of inorganic mineral NP fertilizers than the rates commonly recommended by the research system. The results also showed that the farmers did not subject harvested onion bulbs to any post-harvest management practices for enhancing shelf-life and marketability of the crop.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Aksum University, College of Agriculture, P O Box 314, Shire, Ethiopia

  • Department of Plant Sciences, Haramaya University, P O Box 138, Dire-Dawa, Ethiopia

  • Department of Plant Sciences, Haramaya University, P O Box 138, Dire-Dawa, Ethiopia

  • Melkassa Agricultural Research Centre, P O Box 2500, Adama, Ethiopia

  • Melkassa Agricultural Research Centre, P O Box 2500, Adama, Ethiopia

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