Characterization of Soil Nutrient Management and Post-harvest Handling Practices for Onion Production in the Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia

Onion is an important cash crop for smallholder farmers in the Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia. A survey was conducted during the off-season of 2011 to document nutrient management and post-harvest handling practices in onion production in four districts (Adama, Merti, Dugda Bora and Adamitulu-Jiddokombolcha) in the region. Data were collected from 128 farmers using a standard questionnaire and focus group discussions. The results revealed that all of the sampled smallholder onion growing farmers used Diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea whilst only 10.9% and 5.5% used farmyard manure (FYM) and compost, respectively. The growers on average used 298.8 kg ha-1 Urea and 299.21 kg DAP ha-1. Only small amounts of farmyard manure (1.71 t ha-1) and compost (1.56 t ha-1) were applied by the onion growers. The data also showed that farmers did not practise curing and storing of onion bulbs, and sold the produce on the field during harvest at farm-gate prices. In conclusion, the results of the study revealed that farmers in the region produce onions with application of higher rates of inorganic mineral NP fertilizers than the rates commonly recommended by the research system. The results also showed that the farmers did not subject harvested onion bulbs to any post-harvest management practices for enhancing shelf-life and marketability of the crop.