Effect of spraying compost tea, sulfur, and DAP fertilizer on the growth characteristics of onion plants Allium cepa L.

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Baqubah nursery, Directorate of Diyala Agriculture, Iraq, during the seasons 2022–2023 to study the effect of organic fertilizers (compost tea), which included horse, poultry, cow, and vegetative fertilizers, besides chemical fertilizer (DAP) and sulfur, on the growth and yield of onion plants. The results indicated that the treated plants with horse compost tea were significantly superior in onion diameter (4.333 cm), the poultry compost tea and horse compost tea recorded the highest value in onion length reached (8.267 and 7.533 cm, respectively), and spraying sulfur on the plants led to an increase in plant weight (483 g.plant^-1) and total weight (96.600 ton. hectare^-1) as compared to the control treatment.