Detailed Explanation of Key Points for Spring Cultivation and Management of Garlic

Garlic Allium sativum L. (Garlic) belongs to the Liliaceae family, Allium genus, and its bulb is used medicinally. Harvested in spring and [purple-skinned garlic] summer, tied into bundles, hung in a ventilated place, and dried in the shade for later use. When the leaves wither in June, dig it up, remove the mud and sand, air-dry in a ventilated place or bake until the outer skin is dry. Garlic is flatly spherical or short-conical, with a grayish-white or light brown membranous scale skin on the outside; after peeling off the scale leaves, there are 6-10 garlic cloves inside, arranged in a ring around the flower stalk, with a disc-shaped stem base bearing numerous fibrous roots. Each garlic clove is wrapped in a thin membrane; after peeling off the membrane, a white, thick and juicy scale is revealed. It has a strong garlic odor and a pungent taste.

Growth Habits of Garlic

1. Temperature: Prefers cool conditions, with a suitable temperature of -5-26°C. Garlic seedlings have the strongest cold resistance at the 4-5 leaf stage, which is the most suitable seedling age for overwintering.

2. Light: Garlic that has completed vernalization begins differentiation of flower buds and bulbils under long-day conditions of more than 13 hours and relatively high temperatures; under short-day and cool conditions, it is only suitable for stem and leaf growth.

3. Water: Prefers moisture and fears drought.

4. Soil and nutrition: It has low requirements for soil, but fertile loam rich in organic matter, loose and breathable, with strong water retention and drainage performance is more suitable.

Key Points for Spring Cultivation and Management of Garlic

As temperatures rise, garlic enters the regreening growth period. Around the Spring Equinox, it reaches the rotten mother period (also called the mother-returning period). Due to the influence of continuous low-temperature and drought weather from last winter to this spring, garlic growth has been affected, the seedling condition is poor, and there are more fields with weak seedlings, so management must be strengthened.

1. Regreening period management. Before and after regreening, spray once with a plant growth regulator or amino acid foliar fertilizer to enhance stress resistance and prevent damage to garlic from late spring cold. After the Spring Equinox, garlic is in the “rotten mother period”; during this period, garlic maggots are prone to occur, so pay attention to spraying pesticide to control seed flies.

2. Management during the garlic bolt growth period. Begin controlling onion flies and seed flies in April, spraying once every 7-10 days, for 2 consecutive sprays. From late April, begin controlling garlic leaf blight, gray mold, etc., spraying once about every 10 days, and spray 2-3 times before bolt extraction. For plastic-mulched garlic, after “Qingming”, once the temperature is stable, remove the plastic film and weeds, apply 20 kg of diammonium or potassium fertilizer per mu, and spray a high-efficiency foliar fertilizer, then water thoroughly once. Note that watering should be stopped one week before bolt extraction to facilitate bolt extraction.

3. Management during the garlic bulb expansion period. After bolt extraction, water once accordingly (10-15 kg of high-potassium fertilizer can be applied with the water), then water 1-2 times according to the weather before harvest, keeping the ground moist to meet the garlic's later water needs, and spray once with a disease-prevention pesticide while also spraying foliar fertilizer to consolidate the effect of controlling garlic diseases and ensure a bumper garlic harvest.

4. Fertilizer and water management. During the vigorous growth period of bolt garlic, that is, the period of garlic clove differentiation and garlic bolt growth, this time coincides with spring drought, and in addition the garlic leaf area expands, requiring more fertilizer and water, so watering should be done once every 7 days, and watering should be stopped 3-4 days before bolt extraction to avoid brittle and tender bolt breakage. In connection with watering, apply 10-15 kg of urea per mu, 10 kg of 3×16% ternary compound fertilizer, and at the same time use 200-fold potassium dihydrogen phosphate or other foliar fertilizers for foliar topdressing 2-3 times.

5. Pest and disease control. In spring, bolt garlic mainly has diseases such as purple blotch and leaf blight. Purple blotch mainly damages leaves and garlic bolts; the lesions are elliptical with concentric rings. It can be controlled by spraying 500-fold 64% oxadixyl mancozeb wettable powder, or 600-fold 50% chlorothalonil wettable powder, or 1000-fold iprodione solution, spraying once every 7-10 days, for 3-4 consecutive sprays. Leaf blight mostly starts at the leaf tip; the lesions are irregular grayish-brown and produce black moldy matter on them. It can be sprayed with 600-fold 70% mancozeb wettable powder, or 500-fold 90% fosetyl-aluminum, spraying once every 7 days, for a total of 3 sprays. The main insect pest is thrips, which can be killed by spraying 1500-fold fenpropathrin-malathion emulsifiable concentrate, 1200-fold deltamethrin, or 800-fold dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate.

6. Spraying regulators. When bolt garlic extends its terminal leaves, spray once with 920 growth regulator, mixing each gram of 920 with 50 kg of water, and spray evenly to increase garlic bolt yield.