ChileanJAR

The trial was carried out at La Platina Experiment Station, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, located at the Metropolitan Region, during 1977-1978 season. The objetives were to determine the effect of plant density and nitrogen fertilization on yield and bulb size in onions, cv. Valenciana. Populations of 266,666; 333,333; 400,000; 571,428 and 800,000 plants per hectare were used, in combination with nitrogen levels of 0,30,60,90 and 120 kg/ha, as sodium nitrate. No interaction was observed between plant density and nitrogen fertilization. The marketable yield (ton/ha) in relation to plant density was fitted to a cuadratic function, and the highest increment was found at 571,428 plants per hectare. A lineal and positive response was found for yield to nitrogen levels, and the maximum yleid was 16.6 per cent over the check. The average weight of marketable bulbs decreased as plant density increased fitting a cuadratic function, while bulb size increased with nitrogen level, fitting a lineal and positive function.