Water consumption, yield and quality of onions depending on humic fertilizer application under drip irrigation in Saratov Trans-Volga region

Abstract

Purpose: to study the features of humic fertilizer impact on water consumption, yield and quality of onions under drip irrigation in the dry-steppe zone of Saratov Trans-Volga region. Materials and methods. Field studies were carried out on dark chestnut soils in 2019–2022. The objects of the study were the zoned Chalcedony variety and fertilizers based on humic acids. Related observations and studies of water consumption, productivity formation and yield quality were carried out using generally accepted methods. Results. Research has shown that when maintaining a drip irrigation regime, which involves watering when soil moisture is reduced to 80 % of the lowest moisture capacity in the 0–30 cm layer, the total water consumption of onions on average over the years of the study amounted to 4102 cub. m/ha, average daily – 31 cub. m/ha. The humic fertilizer application contributed to a more economical use of moisture and irrigation water, as evidenced by a decrease in the water consumption coefficient by 7.1–23.3 %, and the cost of irrigation water to form a unit of marketable output by 15.9–24.0 %. Humic fertilizers also provided a significant yield increase – 4.9–15.31 t/ha (10–31 % higher than the control – without fertilizers). Conclusions: the humic fertilizer application, which have stimulating and adaptogenic features, when growing onions under the arid conditions of the Saratov Trans-Volga region with drip irrigation, is an effective technique that ensures more economical use of water resources and increases the yield of one of the leading vegetable crops – onions.

Keywords

• onions
• drip irrigation
• humic fertilizers
• water consumption
• water consumption coefficient
• irrigation water use coefficient
• yield