An investigation was conducted at Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad to know the influence of fertilizer scheduling through drip fertigation on growth & yield of onion (variety: Bhima Shakti) during rabi season of 2017-18 and 2018-19. The experiment included four treatments (T1: Surface irrigation and soil application of RDF, T2: 100% RDF through drip irrigation, T3: 80% RDF through drip irrigation and T4: 60 % RDF through drip irrigation) replicated five times. The fertilizers used were Urea, MOP & 19:19:19 & were completely water soluble. The fertigation was initiated fifteen days after transplanting and was given till fifteen days before harvesting. There were eleven split applications of fertilizers through fertigation at seven days interval. The results of the two years (2017-18, 2018-19 and pooled) revealed that the fertigation at 100 % RDF (T2) was most effective for the growth parameters studied but was on par with 80% RDF (T3). At 75 DAT, the treatment 100% RDF (T2) recorded the highest plant height of 43.34, 51.70 & 47.52 cm, number of leaves 8.0, 7.60 & 7.80 and leaf width of 1.03, 0.81 & 0.92, respectively during 2017-18, 2018-19 & over the years and was on par with 80% RDF (T3) which recorded the height of 41.68, 52.60 & 47.14 cm, number of leaves 7.7, 7.1 & 7.4 and leaf width of 0.83, 0.99 & 0.91 cm, respectively during 2017-18, 2018-19 & over the years. The control treatment (T1) showed lower values for these parameters. Similar trend was observed for yield parameters wherein 100% RDF(T2) recorded the highest equatorial diameter (5.44, 5.49 & 5.47 cm), polar diameter (4.98, 5.34 & 5.16 cm), marketable yield (34.68, 30.31 and 32.50 t/ha) and total yield (37.72, 33.48 and 35.60 t/ha ) and was on par with 80% RDF (T3) with equatorial diameter (5.25, 5.25 & 5.25 cm), polar diameter (4.78, 4.97 & 4.88 cm), marketable yield (32.20, 29.15 & 30.68 t/ha) and total yield (39.30, 30.92 & 35.11 t/ha), respectively during 2017-18, 2018-19 & over the years. The bulbs produced with 100 % RDF (T2) were found better storer with minimum loss in weight of bulbs (4.60 4.88 and 4.74) and rotten bulbs (4.80, 5.00 and 4.90) and was on par with 80% RDF (T3). The control (T1) recorded lower values for all the yield parameters.

From this investigation it can be concluded that since 100 per cent RDF & 80 per cent RDF treatments were on par with each other for all the parameters the 80% RDF (T3) treatment can effectively be adopted which helps in saving fertilizer cost nearly 20 per cent with out compromising the parameters studied.