Evaluation of Onion Varieties under Low Hill Conditions of Himachal Pradesh

An experiment was conducted to identify promising varieties of onion suited for cultivation under low hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh. Ten varieties were evaluated at Research Farm of the Institute of Biotechnology and Environmental Science, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Neri, Hamirpur, for two consecutive seasons (2010- 2011 and 2011-2012). The farm is located at an altitude of 620m above mean sea level, with average mean maximum and minimum temperatures of 31.3°C and 12.4°C, respectively, and is a representative site of the low hill region of Himachal Pradesh. Standard package of practices was followed for raising the crop as recommended by the University. Observations were recorded on various horticultural traits, viz., plant height, number of leaves per plant, days to harvest, neck thickness, bulb diameter, bulb weight, TSS, and total yield. In addition, all the varieties were screened for resistance against purple blotch disease. Maximum days to harvest (129.33 days) were seen in the variety Holland Louis, while, variety Agrifound Rose showed minimum number of days (109). Varieties Palam Lohit, Nasik Red, N-53 and Agrifound Dark Red recorded significantly higher bulb yield (275.00, 240.67, 239.25 and 232.37 q/ha, respectively) than the other varieties evaluated. None of the varieties was able to resist the disease totally; however, 'Agrifound Dark Red' was moderately resistant, exhibiting just 13.78% disease incidence. Varieties Palam Lohit, Nasik Red and Agrifound Dark Red had medium bulb size and higher yield. These can be advocated for commercial cultivation under low hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh.