Influence of Biochar and Variety on Growth, Yield and Quality of Onion (<i>Allium cepa L</i>.) at Abaya Wereda, West Guji Zone

A field experiment was carried out at Guji zone Abaya wereda during the 2022/23 cropping season. Onion is much needed almost in all Ethiopian daily dishes. However, the potential of onion production is found at Gololcha village of Abaya wereda, onion is imported from Batu (Ziway) and Shashemene to Sidama, Gedeo and Guji zone. This is happened due to lack of research output for the potential area for production of onion. Rather than improving productivity of a crop at an area through using inorganic fertilizer, it is better to use improved varieties and organic fertilizer to save the environment. Therefore, the first approach to mitigate this gap is to evaluate the best performing varieties and organic farming practice to the area. Thus, an experiment was conducted to evaluate for best performing Onion variety and biochar application rate in the study area. Treatments consisted of six onion varieties (Adama red, Bombay red, Nafis, Nasik red. robaf and Local Variety) and four biochar application rate (0, 5, 10, 15 tha-1). The results of the study showed that Nafis and 10 tha-1 significantly (p<0.05) increased in growth and yield compared to other Variety and biochar application rate. As results from the study revealed, 10 tha-1 could be successfully used to obtain better growth, yield and quality of onion. However, further testing is required in different locations on different season.