ChileanJAR

The effect of different plant densities was studied on the yield of long day onions (Allium cepa L.) cv. Cobriza INTA. The experiment was conducted at INTA’s La Consulta Experimental Station, Mendoza, Argentina on a deep sandy loam soil (Typic Torrifluvent). The trial was conducted using drip irrigation with a T-Tape 510-30 buried 2 cm deep in the middle of the seedling bed. The design was a randomized block with 4 repetitions. Treatments were four plant densities: 30 (D₃₀), 40 (D₄₀), 50 (D₅₀) y 60 (D₆₀) plants m^-2. The first three densities were seeded in 4 lines, and the D₆₀ in 6 lines. The initial seed stand was reduced at harvest time by 3.1, 3.9, 1.5 and 7.9% for treatments D₃₀, D₄₀, D₅₀ and D₆₀ respectively. Total yield increased linearly up to 50 plants m^-2 reaching a maximum yield of 60 t ha^-1. The percentage of healthy commercial bulbs with respect to total yield was 72; 57; 64; and 65%, for D₃₀, D₄₀, D₅₀ and D₆₀, respectively. There were no significant differences between yields of internal and external rows.