What Fertilizer Is Best for Planting Garlic? The Latest Fertilization Techniques
Garlic is widely cultivated throughout our country, and its fertilization should be based on the characteristics of growth and development and of nutrient demand and uptake, adhering to the principle of “organic fertilizer as the mainstay with chemical fertilizer as a supplement, base fertilizer as the mainstay with topdressing as a supplement, applying coarse fertilizer carefully and chemical fertilizer skillfully”, so as to maximally meet the demand for nutrient elements during growth and development. Now let us take a look at what fertilizer is best for planting garlic!
What fertilizer is best for planting garlic?
As a crop with a relatively high sulfur requirement, garlic contains a large amount of sulfur-containing pungent substances. Among its demands for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients during growth, potassium is the greatest, followed by nitrogen, and phosphorus is relatively low. To improve the yield and quality of garlic, a reasonable combination of potassium and sulfur is crucial. Therefore, when fertilizing, a dedicated fertilizer with N, P, K and S contents of around 40% should be produced mainly according to the basic soil conditions of each area, usually made from urea, monoammonium phosphate, superphosphate, potassium sulfate plus other trace elements.
What are the nutrient demand patterns of garlic?
1. Nitrogen: Garlic's nitrogen uptake is relatively low during the overwintering period, then gradually rises, reaching a peak at the bulb enlargement stage. Before the differentiation stage, nitrogen uptake accounts for 30% of the total uptake.
2. Phosphorus: Garlic's phosphorus uptake is very small before overwintering and even smaller once it enters the overwintering period. From the green-up stage onward, phosphorus uptake gradually increases, and the amount of phosphorus absorbed during the differentiation and bolting stage is the greatest, accounting for 52.1% of the total phosphorus.
3. Potassium: During the seedling stage before winter, garlic's potassium uptake accounts for 10.5% of the total potassium; it is relatively low during the overwintering period; during the green-up stage, potassium uptake accounts for 26.7% of the total; and during the bulb enlargement stage, it accounts for about 45% of the total potassium uptake over the whole growth period.
How should garlic be fertilized for good results?
1. Fertilization principles: Garlic fertilization should be carried out scientifically and reasonably according to the soil fertility level and the needs of garlic at different growth stages, grasping the fertilization principle of “light early, heavy in the middle, supplementary later”, preventing both excessive lush growth in the early stage and premature aging from fertilizer deficiency in the later stage.
2. Land preparation and fertilization: Before sowing garlic, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied all at once in combination with land preparation, with 2500-3000 kg of farmyard manure, 40-75 kg of chlorine-based compound fertilizer, and 1.5-2 kg each of ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, borax, zinc sulfate and copper sulfate added per mu.
3. Jointing fertilizer: Under normal weather conditions, garlic at the green-up stage generally does not require field management. The first topdressing should be carried out at the jointing stage, with 20-25 kg of nitro compound fertilizer applied per mu, and after an interval of 15-20 days, a second application of about 20 kg per mu.
4. Differentiation fertilizer: When garlic enters the differentiation and bolting stage, vegetative growth and reproductive growth proceed simultaneously, and the demand for phosphorus is strong. When the garlic scape emerges (shows its tip), apply 15-20 kg of high-phosphorus, high-potassium compound fertilizer per mu, dissolving it first and then applying it as a flush.
5. Foliar topdressing: Foliar topdressing of garlic should be carried out before 11 a.m. or after 4 p.m. on sunny days. Soak 2 kg of calcium superphosphate or 1 kg of sulfur-based compound fertilizer in 50 kg of water for 12 hours, then spray the clear liquid over 1 mu; 1-2 foliar sprays can be carried out in the middle and late stages.