Garlic
Botanical Name – Allium sativum
Family – Alliaceae
- Garlic is a native of Southern Europe and a popular bulb crop cultivated throughout Asia.
- It is used as spice in many dishes.
- It has excellent medicinal properties.
- It is rich source of Protein, Phosphorus, Potassium etc.
- It helps in digestion; also it reduces cholesterol in human blood. Major Garlic producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana.
The garlic varieties developed by National Horticultural Research Development Foundation (NHRDF), Nashik, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Rahuri, Chaudhary Charan Singh Agricultural University (CCSHAU), Hisar, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS), Almora and Junagadh Agricultural University (JAU), Junagadh are listed below.
Table . Other garlic varieties for different regions of the country
Variety | Developed by | Colour | Region | Days to maturity | Yield potential (t/ha) |
Short day type | |||||
Agrifound White (G-41) | NHRDF | White | Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra | 130-135 | 12-14 |
Yamuna Safed (G-1) | NHRDF | White | All India | 120-130 | 15-17 |
Yamuna Safed-2 (G-50) | NHRDF | White | Northern India | 120-130 | 15-20 |
Yamuna Safed-3 (G-282) | NHRDF | Creamy white | Chhattisgarh, Gujarat,Haryana,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh | 120-130 | 17-20 |
Yamuna Safed-4 (G-323) | NHRDF | White | North and central India | 165-175 | 16-17 |
Yamuna Safed-5 (G-189) | NHRDF | White | Andaman and Nicobar Island, Arunachal Pradesh,Bihar,Delhi Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand,Manipur,Meghalaya,Mizoram, Nagaland,Punjab,Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tarai region of Uttar Pradesh,TripuraandUttarakhand | 150-160 | 17-18 |
Godavari | MPKV | Purple | Maharashtra | 140-145 | 10-11 |
Shweta | MPKV | White | Maharashtra | 130-135 | 10-11 |
Phule Baswant | MPKV | White | Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra | 135-140 | 10.-11 |
GG 4 | JAU | White | Gujarat and Maharashtra | 130-140 | 8-10 |
Intermediate type | |||||
Ooty 1 | TNAU | Dull white | Tamil Nadu | 120-130 | 15-17 |
Long day type | |||||
VL Garlic 1 | ICAR-VPKAS | White | Bihar,Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh | 180-190 | Hills:14-15 Plains: 9-10 |
VL Lahsun 2 | ICAR-VPKAS | White | Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand | 190-200 | Mid hills:14-16 Above mid hills: 24-26 |
Agrifound Parvati | NHRDF | Purple | Hills of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and high altitudes of North eastern states like Sikkim etc. | 165-175 | 17-18 |
Agrifound Parvati-2 (G-408) | NHRDF | White | Hills of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and high altitudes of North eastern states like Sikkim etc. | 165-175 | 17-22 |
Soil
- Well drained fertile loamy soil with a pH of 6-8 is desirable for growing this crop.
- Like onion, garlic is sensitive to highly acidic, alkali and saline soils and water logging conditions.
- In heavy soils, the bulbs produced may be deformed. Bulbs become discoloured in poorly drained soils.
- The threshold electrical conductivity of a saturation extract (ECe) for garlic crop is 3.9 dS/m. When the ECe level exceeds this, crop yield starts declining.
Climate-
- Garlic can be grown at elevation of 1200–2000m from the mean sea level.
- It requires short days, cool(12–18°C) moist period during vegetative growth.
- In general, a cool growing period results in higher yield than warm conditions. Exposure of young plants to 20°C or lower temperature for 1-2 months depending upon the variety hastens subsequent
- The critical day length for bulbing is 10-12 h for short day garlic and 13-14 h for long day garlic.
- Field should be ploughed using mould board plough and tilled using cultivator 3-4 times to eliminate debris and soil clods.
- Organic manure equivalent to 75 kg N/ha (FYM 15 t/ha or poultry manure 7.5 t/ha or vermi-compost 7.5 t/ha) should be incorporated at the time of last ploughing and beds of appropriate size should be prepared after levelling.
- Mostly, flat beds of 1.5-2.0 m width and 4-6 m length are formed. But, for kharif or rainy season, flat beds should be avoided to prevent water logging.
- For this season, broad bed furrows (BBF) of 15 cm height and 120 cm top width with 45 cm furrow are formed, which are suitable for drip and sprinkler irrigation.
Time of sowing
Optimum time for sowing is last week of September to first week of October.
- Twist off the outer skins and take the cloves apart without breaking the basal plate of the cloves, as that makes them unusable for planting.
- With hardneck garlic, the remainder of the stem acts as a handy lever for separating the cloves. Big cloves (>1.5g) should be selected for planting.
- Small, diseased and damaged cloves should be rejected. Dip cloves in carbendazim solution (0.1%) just before planting to reduce the incidence of fungal diseases during establishment.
- Seed rate for garlic is 400-500 kg/ha.
- Selected cloves should be planted vertically 2 cm below soil surface with plant to plant spacing of 10 cm and row to row spacing of 15 cm.
- Seed Treatment
- Seed treatment with Thiram@2 gm/kg of seed + Benomyl 50WP@1 gm/liter water effectively controls damping off and smut diseases.
- After chemical treatment, seed treatment with bio agent Trichoderma viride@2 gm/kg of seed is recommended, it help in reducing early seedling diseases and soil borne inoculum.
- Spacing
Keep spacing of 7.5 cm between two plant and 15 cm between the rows. - Sowing Depth
Sow garlic cloves 3 to 5 cm deep keeping their growing heads upward. - Method of sowing
For sowing of garlic use Kera method. Sowing can be done manually or with help of Machine. Cover cloves with soil and provide light irrigation.
- Based on the field experiments carried out through All India Network Research Project on Onion and Garlic at different locations, application of 75:40:40:40 kg NPKS/ha along with a combination of two or three organic manures (FYM, Poultry manure and Vermicompost) equivalent to 75 kg N/ha (7.5 t Poultry manure or 7.5 t Vermicompost or 15 t FYM/ha) is recommended for Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu (Ooty).
- Application of 100:50:50:50 kg NPKS + 20t FYM/ha is recommended for Haryana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Recommended organic manures should be applied before last ploughing and mixed well in the soil.
- N should not be applied in the form of urea.
- Spray 1500 ppm of CCC or MH on 30th day of planting.
- Frequency of irrigation is reduced to minimise rubberisation , 0.2 % Boron, 0.25 % Zinc sulphate are applied on 30th, 60th and 90th days after planting
- Initially garlic seedlings grow slowly. So it is better to use chemical herbicides than hand weeding to avoid injury.
- To control weeds take spray of Pendimethalin@1 Ltr/200 Ltr water/acre within 72 hours of sowing.
- Apply Oxyfluorfen@425ml/200Ltr of water per acre as post emergence herbicide 7 days after planting.
- Two to three weeding are recommended for weed control.
- First hand weeding should be done one month after sowing and second hand weeding to be done one month after first hand weeding.
- Depending upon climatic conditions and soil type decide irrigation amount and frequency.
- Apply first irrigation immediately after sowing then depending upon need apply irrigation with interval of 10-15 days.
- Garlic crops should be irrigated immediately after planting and subsequently at a 7-10 days interval depending upon the soil moisture.
- In general, the kharif crop needs 5-8 irrigations and rabi crop 12-13 irrigations. Irrigation needs to be stopped when the crop attains maturity (10-15 days before harvest).
Modern micro-irrigation techniques such as drip and sprinkler irrigation help in saving irrigation water and improve the marketable bulb yield significantly.
In case of drip irrigation, seed cloves need to be planted at a spacing of 15 x 10 cm in a broad bed furrow (BBF) of 15 cm height and 120 cm top width with 45 cm furrow.
Each BBF should have two drip laterals (16 mm size) at 60 cm distance with inbuilt emitters.
The distance between two inbuilt emitters should be around 30-50 cm and the discharge flow rate of 4 l/hr.
The drip irrigation system helps in water, labour and fertilizer saving, and improves bulb yield by 15-25% over flood irrigation system.
In case of sprinklers, the distance between two laterals (20 mm size) should be 6 m with a discharge rate of 135 l/hr.
Pest/disease | Pest | Symptoms | Control measures |
Insects | Thrips (Thrips tabaci)
| 1.Thrips infestation at an early stage (transplanting to 45 days) can be identified by curling and twisting of leaves. 2.Typical symptom is the presence of white or silvery patches on the leaves. 3.In severe infestation, the whole plant looks blemished and turns white. | 1.Planting of two rows of maize or one outer row of maize and an inner row of wheat as a barrier crop surrounding garlic crop (250 sq. m) at least 30 days prior to planting of garlic helps to block the movement of adult thrips. 2.Spray insecticides Profenofos (0.1%), Carbosulfan (0.2%) or Fipronil (0.1%) when thrips population crosses the economic threshold level of 30 thrips/plant. |
| Eriophyid mite (Aceria tulipae)
| 1.Leaves do not open completely. Whole plant shows stunting, twisting, curling and yellow mottling. 2.Mottling is seen mostly on the edges of the leaves. 3.Ideal environmental conditions (25°C, 80% relative humidity) | Spray Dicofol (0.2%) or sulphur (0.05%) as soon as the symptoms appear. Repeat the spray after 15 days, if necessary. |
| Red spider mite (Tetranychus urticae)
| 1.White discoloration of leaves with small patches of faeces, eggs, larvae and adult mites. 2.Yellow or bronze spots on the leaves. 3.Spider webbing on leaves 4.Spider mites prefer hot and dry conditions. They are most active between 48 °F and 111 °F; however, they prefer temperatures between 55 °F and 98 °F. | Spray Dicofol (0.2%) or sulphur (0.05%) as soon as the symptoms appear. Repeat the spray after 15 days, if necessary. |
Nematode | Stem and bulb nematode (Ditylenchus dipsaci)
| 1.D.dipsaci enters through stoma or plant wounds and creates galls or malformations in plant growth. This allows for the entrance of secondary pathogens like fungi and bacteria. 2.Symptoms are stunted growth, discoloration of bulbs, and swollen stems. | 1.Bulbs that show signs of disease should not be planted 2.Proper sanitation of fields and tools is essential because this nematode can survive and reproduce in infected plants and residues. |
Fungal diseases | Purple bloch (Alternaria porri)
| 1.Initially small, elliptical lesions or spots on leaves that often turn purplish-brown and are surrounded by chlorotic margin. 2.If the spots enlarge, chlorotic margin extend above and below the actual lesion. Lesions usually girdle leaves, causing them to fall over. Lesions may also start at the tips of older leaves. 3.Severe in high humidity and moderate temperature of 80–90% and 25–30°C, respectively | Spay Mancozeb @ 0.25% or Tricyclazole @ 0.1% or Hexaconazole @ 0.1% or Propiconazole @ 0.1% at 10-15 days intervals from 30 days after planting or as soon as disease appears |
| Stemphylium blight (Stemphylium vesicarium)
| 1.Small yellow to orange flecks or streaks develop in the middle of the leaf which soon develop into elongated, spindle shape to ovate elongate diffused spots surrounded by characteristic pinkish margin. 2.The spots progress from the tip to the base of the leaves. The spots coalesce into extended patches, blighting the leaves and gradually the entire foliage. 3.Optimum conditions for spread are 65 to 77°F, heavy dew or rainfall, and conditions that cause foliar wounding. | Spay Mancozeb @ 0.25% or Tricyclazole @ 0.1% or Hexaconazole @ 0.1% or Propiconazole @ 0.1% at 10-15 days interval from 30 days after planting or as soon as disease appears |
| White rot (Sclerotium cepivorum)
| 1.Yellowing and dying back of leaf tips. 2.Roots are normally destroyed. Superficial white fluffy mycelium may be present on decaying scales. 3.Brown or black sclerotia develop on surface or within tissue. 4.The soil temperature range for infection is 50° to 75°F, with an optimum of 60° to 65°F. At soil temperatures above 78°F, the disease is markedly inhibited. | 1.Crop rotation should be followed, infected plant may be destroyed and the soil around these plants should be treated. 2.Soil solarization at high temperature reduces the disease incidence. 3.Carbendazim @ 0.1% may be applied. |
Viral diseases | Onion yellow dwarf virus (OYDV)
| Mild chlorotic stripes to bright yellow stripes, mosaic, curling of leaves and stunted growth | 1.Use virus-free planting material 2.Foliar spray of insecticides Profenofos @ 0.1% or Carbosulfan (0.2%) or Fipronil (0.1%) for controlling aphids, the virus vector |
| Leek yellow stripe virus (LYSV)
| 1.Causes light yellow striping on the distal part the leaves, which can lead to dwarfing of the entire plant 2.The virus also causes bulbs to be smaller and malformed, which results in yield loss and post harvest storage loss | 1.Use virus-free planting material 2.Foliar spray of insecticides Profenofos @ 0.1% or Carbosulfan (0.2%) or Fipronil (0.1%) for controlling aphids, the virus vector. |
| Irish Yellow Spot Virus (IYSV)
| 1.Straw-coloured, spindle-shaped spots with poorly defined ends on the leaves 2.These spots coalesce to form larger patches on the leaves 3.Clearly visible on older leaves | 1.Eliminate volunteers, culls, and weeds in and around garlic fields. 2.Use virus-free planting material 3.Avoid crop stress. 4.Thrips control may provide some reduction in Iris yellow spots as thrips are vectors of virus |
Storage diseases | Penicillium rot (Pencillium corymbiform )
| 1.Affected bulbs are light in weight and individual cloves are soft, spongy and powdery dry. 2.In an advanced stage of decay, the cloves break down in a green or gray powdery mass. | Store under dry conditions in storage structures to reduce rot development |
| Black mould (Aspergillus spp.)
| 1.Bulbs show black discoloration at the neck and streaks of black mycelium and conidia beneath the outer dry scales. 2.In advanced stages all scales are infected and the bulb shrivels. 3.This disease is most severe in cool and dry soils | 1.After proper drying, store bulbs in dry conditions. 2.Avoid bruising when bulbs are harvested, stored or transported. |
| Fusarium basal rot (Fusarium oxysporum cepae)
| 1.Shattering of the cloves 2.Bulbs appear spongy or sunken and / or brown and watery when cut open. 3.White or light pink growth appear over the cloves 4.The disease can occur when soil temperatures range from 59° to 90°F, with optimal temperatures for disease development ranging from 77° to 82°F. | 1.Do not store damaged bulbs. 2.Store bulbs in dry conditions with good ventilation 3.Follow crop rotation with non-host crops such as wheat and cowpea for 3-4 years |
| Bacterial rot (Erwinia spp. and Pseudomonas spp.)
| Watery, foul-smelling fluid squeezed from the neck of diseased bulbs when pressed. | 1.Proper curing after harvest 2. Store bulbs in dry conditions with good ventilation |
- Crop becomes ready in 135-150 days after sowing.
- Crop can be harvested when 50% leaves start yellowing and drying.
- Stop irrigation atleast 15days before harvesting.
- Plants are pull out or uprooted, then tied into small bundle and kept in field or shade for 2-3days.
- After proper drying, dry stalks are removed and bulbs are cleaned.
8 – 12 t/ha
