Nitrogen doses and sources applied as top-dressing in onion crops grown under no-tillage and conventional tillage systems

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) fertilization effectiveness in onion depends on N source, as well as on soil type and management system.The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of N sources and doses applied as top-dressing on bulb yield, leaf N contents and on the postharvest conservation of onion bulbs grown under no-tillage (NTS) and conventional tillage (CTS) systems. Three experiments were carried out: two in Lebon Régis County-SC, under NTS; and one in Caçador County-SC, under CTS. The herein tested N sources comprised urea, ammonium nitrate, calcium nitrate and ammonium sulfate, in combination to N doses applied as top-dressing (70, 140, 210, 280 and 350 kg N ha -1 ) in addition to the control, without N. The N sources did not affect yield parameters, leaf N content and post-harvest onion losses. The maximum technical efficiency in bulb yield was observed at N doses of 195.8 and 258.4 kg ha -1 in the no-tillage system (NTS) and at 270.7 kg N ha -1 in the CTS. The NTS enabled maximum yield at N dose 47% lower than the officially recommended one. Maximum relative commercial yield was associated with 31.1 g kg -1 of leaf N.