Effect of Animal Droppings as Manure, Mulching Practices and Time of Planting on Growth and Yield of Onion

In Ethiopia, onions are mainly cultivated in all parts of the country because of ecological suitability. This led to the exploration of possibilities of producing the crop in the south, eastern, western and northern zones. The objectives were to determine the effect of two different animal droppings as manure sources, different types weed management practices and planting time on the growth and yield of the onions. The experiment was an open field experiment in randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated 3 times. The animal droppings used as manures were that of poultry and pig; weed management practices were: (1) sawdust mulch at the rate of 93 tonnes/ha (2) Black polyethylene cover (3) manual weeding (4) weedy check plots. The 3 planting times evaluated were the months of July, June, and August. Data were collected at 2 weekly intervals on growth, yield and weed traits. The result of the experiment showed that the poultry manure performed better than the pig dung on the onions yields in the area. Planting at the month of June was also the best for the studied periods. Furthermore, the use of sawdust as mulch gave the best yield for the onions among mulch materials used. Onions can be grown in Debub area of south eastern Ethiopia provided the results recommended in these studies are followed; which are using poultry manure, using sawdust as mulch and planting in the month of June.