Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is important bulb crops grown and used as a spice or a condiment throughout India. It is also an important foreign exchange gaining Crop for India. Garlic has higher nutritive value than other bulb crops

India exports fresh and chilled garlic, dried garlic, dehydrated garlic flakes, dehydrated garlic powder and garlic oil to Bahrain, Bangladesh, Germany, Japan.

Garlic farming is mainly in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

Soil for Garlic Farming

The Garlic crop grows in the well-drained loamy, rich in humus with fairly good potash content soil. Garlic Crops raised on sandy or loose soils have poor keeping quality and the bulbs produced are lighter in weight.

Garlic Bulbs produced in heavy soils are deformed, and during harvest, many bulbs are broken and bruised. Bulbs become badly discolored poorly-drained soil.

Acidic soils are not suitable for clove development. However, a pH range between 5 – 7 had little effect on growth and yield.

Climate

Garlic crop grows under a wide range of climatic conditions. However, it cannot tolerate a climate that is too cold or too hot. It prefers medium temperature in summer as well as in winter.

Extremely hot or long dry periods are not favorable to bulb formation. It is a frost-hardy plant requiring a cool and moist period during growth and a relatively dry period during bulb maturity.

Garlic Bulbing formation takes place during longer days and at high temperatures. An average temperature of 25-30°C is most helpful for bulb formation.

Garlic verity 

These are high yielding and disease resistant garlic verity use in commercial Garlic cultivation.

Agrifound White, Yamuna Safed, Yamuna Safed 2, Yamuna Safed 3, Godavari, Shweta, GG-4, Phule Baswant, VL Garlic 1, VL Lahsun 2, Ooty 1, Agrifound Parvati, Agrifound Parvati 2.

Propagation

Garlic is propagated by planting cloves or bulbils or aerial bulbils.

Propagation by aerial bulbils is preferred when closer space is adopted. Aerial bulbils are more productive as compared to clones.

Larger cloves give higher yield. The seed should be virus-free.

Season of Garlic planting:

Season of Garlic plantation is not similar to all over India.

• Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andrash pradesh –   August to November.
• Northern state of India –  September to November.
• Hilly areas, March – April. In
• West Bengal – November

Garlic Planting

The soil should be thoroughly prepared by repeated ploughing then add well-decomposed FYM at the rate of 10 to 20 tonnes per hectare.

The ideal spacing is 15 cm x 10 cm and the seed rate 500 to 600 kg of cloves per hectare.

Three methods are available for garlic sowing.

• Dibbling
• Furrow planting
• Broadcasting.

When the close spacing has adopted while garlic planting the size of the bulb decrease but the total yield increase while when broad space adopted then size of the bulb increase but total yield decrease.

Garlic cloves are soaked in cycocel (CC  ommercial Garlic farming

Garlic responds well to organic manure so add Well decomposed FYM at the rate of 20 tonnes per hectare at the time of field preparation for garlic cultivation.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium are applied at the rate of 60 kg each.

Nitrogen is given two split dose one is at the time of planting second is 30 days after planting.

Application of borax at the rate of 10 kg/ ha is improving bulb size and crop yield.

Irrigation:

Before planting the field should be given light irrigation. In garlic farming, furrow irrigation, drip irrigation, and sprinkler irrigation method used.

Irrigation is repeated on every 3rd during the initial stages the crop is irrigated more frequently per once in a week, but afterward, the crop irrigated once in 15
days.

The frequency is decreased the crop is reached maturity the harvesting time the irrigation is stopped.

Intercultural Operations

Garlic is a closely planted crop thus manual weeding is tedious, expensive and it may cause damage to the
crop, therefore, chemical herbicides like Linuron (2.25 kg/ha), Pendimethalin (1.5 kg/ha), and Tribunil (2.1 kg/ha) is useful.

Hoeing helps the crop just before the formation of bulbs loosens the soil and helps in a set of bigger and compact bulbs.

Harvesting

Garlic crop is ready for harvest in  130-150 days after planting, depending on cultivar, soil, and season.

At this stage,  When the top turn yellowish and they show symptoms of drying and bending, we can recognize that the crop is ready for harvesting the crop.

Early harvest results in poor-quality bulbs which cannot be stored for long periods.

Bulbs are carefully lifted and clean the leaves tied at the top shade dried in one week, and the bulbs are cured for proper drying for about 3 – 4 day in the shade for maximum one week period before storage.

Yield

The garlic yield 40 to 100 quintals per hectare produce and this is depending on many factors like garlic variety, season, soil fertility.

Storage of Garlic

Garlic is fairly cured in ordinary ventilated rooms hence tied the Garlic leaves and hangs with support in well-ventilated rooms. Well-Cured garlic can store up to eight months at room temperature.

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