Onion (Allium cepa L.) Yield and Growth Dynamics Response to In-Season Patterns of Nitrogen and Sulfur Uptake

The in-season trend of onion biomass and its yield depend on the dynamics of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) uptake. This hypothesis was verified based on a three-year (2009, 2010, 2011) field study (Poznan University of Life Sciences). The experimental factors consisted of N: 0, 60, 120 and S: 0, 30, 60 kg ha−1. The dynamics of onion total dry weight (TDW), total N uptake (TNU), and total S uptake (TSU) were determined at 10-day intervals. The in-season course of TDW and TNU was best described by the expolinear and TSU by the quadratic growth model. Sulfur uptake increased in onion at day after emergence (DAE) 40, independent of its rate with respect to SN control, resulting in increased N by 50%, and consequently higher yield. The maximum absolute S uptake rate (SCm), a factor defining yield, increased progressively with the N rate, but only in the absence of S application. Plants fertilized simultaneously with S and N showed a more complicated impact on SCm. The N rate of 120 kg ha−1 resulted in SCm reduction, leading to a yield drop. The expolinear model indicated an onion growth disturbance, revealed under unfavorable growth conditions, leading to yield depression.