The Effect of Nitrogen Fertilizer Rates and Intra-row Spacing on Yield Components and Qualities of Shallot (Allium ascalonium L.) at Mulo District, Ethiopia

Abstract

The leafy vegetable shallot (Allium ascalonium L.) is grown in many tropical locations, including Ethiopia. Due to insufficient soil fertility, a lack of better planting materials, improper plant density, and a lack of agronomy research, the study area's shallot yield is low. Thus, this experiment was carried out during the 2021–2022 off-season in Mulo District, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The primary goal of this study was to assess  intra-row spacing and nitrogen fertilizer rates affected shallot growth, yield, and quality. Four intra-row spacings (5, 10, 15, and 20 cm) and four nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha⁻¹) were set up in a 4 × 4 factorial experiment utilizing a randomized full block design with three replications. Data were collected on yield components, yield, and quality parameters of shallots. Both the main effects and their interaction exhibited a substantial (p < 0.05) impact on yield and quality parameters, according to analysis of variance. The maximum marketable and total bulb yields were obtained from the interaction of 150 kg N ha⁻¹ nitrogen fertilizer with 15 cm intra-row spacing, while the lowest yields 16.79tha^-1 were recorded from the zero kg N and at  the narrowest spacing. Therefore, the use of 150 kg N ha⁻¹ nitrogen fertilizer with 15 cm intra-row spacing can be recommended for improved shallot production under the conditions of the study area. However, further studies across different seasons would be to validate these findings.