Impact of indole-3-acetic acid and naphthalene acetic acid foliar application on onion growth with or without mulching

Abstract

Onion is the most important crop throughout the world. Onion yield production in Pakistan is lower than in some other countries. Consumption of onions increases day by day due to an increase in population. An experiment was conducted at UAF Sub-campus Burewala during winter 2019-2020 to assess the effect of IAA and NAA on the growth, yield and development of onion. Three levels of IAA (100, 200, 300 ppm) and three levels of NAA (50, 100, 150 ppm) were tested under RCBD layout with fourteen (14) treatments and two replications. Different parameters like (Leaf length, Leaf number, Neck diameter, Rate of increase in leaf length, Leaf number increase rate, Rate of increase in neck diameter) were recorded and analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results revealed that 100 ppm IAA, particularly under mulched conditions, significantly (p ≤ 0.05) enhanced all morphological attributes. Although direct yield data were not collected, the substantial improvement in growth parameters suggests a potential increase in bulb yield. Keeping in view the results of the experiment onion crop with 100 ppm IAA is recommended.