Assessment of Biometric Characteristics and Yield of Two Onion Cultivars in Soils of Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh, India

In order to identify suitable onion varieties for Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh, an On Farm Testing (OFT) was conducted during the Rabi seasons of 2022-23 and 2023-24 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra operated mandals of Ananthapur district. Two high yielding onion varieties were tested with five locations during each year in comparison to that of farmers variety of being grown by the farmers of the area. Different treatments included onion varieties of NHRDF Red 4 (TO1), NHRDF Red 3 (TO2) and Bellary local variety as farmers practice. The results revealed that highest plant height (58.25 cm), maximum number of leaves (8.35), lesser duration (123 days), maximum weight of bulb (77.76 g) and bulb yield (26.45 t/ha) was reported from NHRDF Red 4 than NHRDF Red-3 and farmers local variety (Bellary local). Similarly, NHRDF Red 4 variety recorded higher gross returns (Rs. 2,49,066/ha), net returns (Rs. 1,11,407/ha) and B:C ratio of 1.81 as compared to other two varieties. From the study, it is concluded that onion variety NHRDF Red-4 had better performance in the trial and can be recommended for cultivation in Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh.