Asian Journal of Research and Review in Agriculture

Efficient water use in agriculture is crucial in arid and semi-arid regions like the Halaba Zone of Ethiopia, where water scarcity poses a major limitation to crop production. Onion (Allium cepa L.), a high-value and water-demanding crop, requires optimized irrigation strategies to ensure sustainable productivity. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used to account for variability within the experimental field and ensure reliable comparison of the effects of alternate furrow irrigation with different irrigation schedules on onion yield and water use efficiency. This study evaluated the effects of alternate furrow irrigation at different moisture application depths (MAD) on crop performance parameters, including plant height (PH), bulb weight (BW), bulb diameter (BD), and total yield (TY). The collected data were statistically analyzed using R software, which facilitated analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine the significance of treatment effects on onion yield and water use efficiency. Post hoc tests, such as Tukey’s HSD, were also conducted in R to compare mean differences among treatments. Four irrigation treatments were tested: 75%, 100%, and 125% MAD under alternate furrow irrigation, and the conventional farmer practice (FP). The highest total yield (17174.2 kg/ha) was obtained from alternate furrow irrigation with 75% MAD, significantly outperforming the other treatments. Though not statistically significant, plant height and bulb size were also favorable under this treatment. The findings suggest that alternate furrow irrigation with 75% MAD is a viable strategy for improving yield while potentially conserving water.