Response of Processing and Fresh-market Onions to Drip Irrigation

The response of yield to surface-and-subsurface drip irrigation was investigated for both processing onions and fresh-market onions. Irrigation treatments consisted of water applications ranging fro 60% to 120% of a baseline amount for both irrigation methods. Data collected were applied water, yield, soluble solids (processing onions), canopy coverage, canopy temperature, and soil moisture content. Results showed a linear increase in total yield with increasing amounts of applied water for both processing and fresh-market onions. However, for the fresh-market onions, little change in yield occurred for the medium and repack grades. No differences in the yield-applied water relationships were found between surface-and-subsurface drip irrigation.