EFFECTS OF CHICKEN MANURE AND HARVESTING DATE ON "TODO ANO" GREEN ONION YIELD AND GROSS INCOME

Abstract

The study was carried out with ";Todo Ano"; green onions in Dourados-MS, between March 13 and June 16, 2000, in a soil classified as dystrorthox with a clayey texture. Semi-decomposed chicken manure, incorporated (0,7 and 14 t.ha^-1) or as soil cover (0,7 and 14 t.ha^-1), with harvests at 60 and 95 days after planting, was studied in a 3 x 3 x 2 factorial arrangement in a complete randomized block design with four replications. Statistical analysis was done with triple interaction confounding. Plant height, stem diameter at the soil surface, numbers of leaves and stems and fresh and dried mass of green onion without roots were measured for each period of harvest. Those onions picked at 60 days after planting were smaller in those picked at 95 days. The significant effect of interaction harvest day x semidecomposed chicken manure incorporated for fresh mass was detected on plants picked at 95 days after planting, in which the use of 14 t.ha^-1 induced increases of 33.9% and 85.3%, respectively, in relation to those in which was used 7 t.ha^-1 and 0 t.ha^-1. There were significant increases of 21.4% and 79.8% of fresh mass and 18.2% and 54.8% of dried mass of plants cultivated in soil with 14 t.ha^-1 of semi-decomposed chicken manure as soil cover, respectively, in relation to those cultivated with 7 t.ha^-1 and 0 t.ha^-1. Total gross income with harvest at 95 days after planting was the best, mainly when bunching onion was cultivated in soil with 14 t.ha^-1 of semi-decomposed chicken manure incorporated (R$ 44,418.25).

KEY-WORDS: Allium fistulosum; organic residue; harvest period; productivity; income.