Evaluation of Kharif Onion (Allium cepa L.) Varieties in Malwa Agro Climatic Zone of Madhya Pradesh

The on farm testing was conducted in the farmers’ fields of Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh with the objective to find out the most suitable varieties of kharif onion for two consecutive years i.e. 2018-19 and 2019-20. From the study it is revealed that onion variety Bhima Dark Red performed better in growth, yield, yield attributing parameters and economic returns as compared to Agrifound Dark Red and N-53 varieties. Maximum plant height (58.37 cm), number of leaves per plant (12.29), leaf length (52.18 cm), bulb diameter (6.04 cm), fresh weight of bulb (103.10 g), cured weight of bulb (90.84 g), bulb yield (219.55 q/ha) and minimum neck thickness of bulb (1.10 cm) and bolting percentage (0.55%) were found in Bhima Dark Red.Bhima Dark Red variety recorded additional net returns of Rs. 53,320 and Rs. 2,44,819 over Agrifound Dark Red and N-53. Highest B:C ratio was obtained with Bhima Dark Red (6.57) as compared to Agrifound Dark Red (5.99) and N-53 (3.03).