Enhancing Productivity and Production of Onion (Allium cepa L.) Through the use of Improved Varieties at North Western Zoze of Tigray, Ethiopia

Field experiment was conducted to study the effect different varieties on yield, yield attributing character and postharvest storability of onion (Allium cepa L.) in Tselemti district, North western Zone of Tigray During 2007-2009off season time. Four improved onion varieties namly:Bombey red, Adama red, Nasik red &Nafis including Shendi (imported from Sudan),were tested in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. Accordingly, treatments were assigned randomly to the experimental plot within a block. The results showed that the difference in variety had significant effect on all characters except the non-significant effect of variety on neck thickness and bulb diameter. Nasik red variety gave significantlyhighest in plant height ,leaf number, leaf length bulb length and marketable bulb yield i.e 35588kg/ha that exhibited 18% and 36% advantages on the dominantly produced varieties bombey red and adama red respectively.The overall study revealed that growing Nasik red variety is not only significantly increased the marketable bulb yield , but also better shelf life. Therefore, it is recommended for onion producers of Tselemti wereda for profitable onion yield