Effect of Different Sowing Dates and Various Varieties on Seedling Growth of Late Kharif Onion (Allium cepa L.) in Assam

Experiments were conducted on sandy loam soil of Horticulture Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam during 2020-21 and 2021-22. The experiment was conducted on “The effect of different sowing dates and various varieties on seedling growth of late kharif onion (Allium cepa L.) in Assam.” Fifteen treatment combinations comprising of five onion varieties viz., Arka Kalyan, Bhima Dark Red, Agrifound Dark Red, Bhima Super and Bhima Red and three dates of sowing viz., 25th August, 5th September and 15th September were tested in Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with three replications. At the nursery stage, on the basis of pooled data, the relationship of different growth characters with various varieties and different dates of sowing revealed that variety Bhima Super sowing on 25th August (D1V4) was the best in the number of leaves (3.77), fresh weight of seedling (344.16 mg) and dry weight of seedlings (58.85 mg) at 40 days of sowing. Number of leaves per plant 25, 30 and 35 days after sowing were not affected by combination of various varieties and different dates of sowing.