The Effect of Fertilizing with Cerealine and Spraying with Micronutrients on the Productivity and Quality of Onion

Two field experiments were carried out during the two successive winter seasons of 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 in in the El-Gemmeiza Agricultural Research Station in the Gharbeya Governorate, Egypt, to study the effect of mineral, bio nitrogen and spraying with some microelements individually or in the mixture on plant growth, yield and its components and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) as well as storability of onion ( cv. Giza 20 ). The interaction treatment between 75 % RRN with cerealine as biofertilzer and foliar spray with mixture micronutrients (Fe+Cu+Zn) at 50 ppm of each was the best treatments for enhancing plant height, number of leaves/plant, bulbing ratio, fresh weight and dry weight/plant at 90 and 120 days after transplanting (DAT), marketable yield and total yield /fed. macro and microelements in bulbs (N, P ,K, Fe, Cu and Zn) in both seasons. In this concern, this treatment produced relative increases in total yield/fed. were about 21.31 and 22.76 % over 100 % RRN only in the 1st and 2nd seasons, respectively as well as gave the highest gross return, net return and beneficial cost ratio. While, the interaction between cerealine biofertilzer only and Zn at 50 ppm as foliar application increased TSS and DM in bulbs and reduced the weight loss percentage in bulbs after five month from storage in both seasons. As for NUE, the interaction between 50 %RRN (45 kg N/fed.) + cerealine biofertilzer and spraying with the mixture of Fe+Cu+Zn at 50 ppm gave the highest values in both seasons.