The Latest Autumn-Sowing Garlic Cultivation Technique Method Tutorial

Garlic is also known as garlic bulb, garlic head, hu garlic, hu, single garlic, single-clove garlic, etc. It is the general term for plants of the garlic genus, a biennial herbaceous plant of the genus Allium in the lily family. The optimal sowing period is to let the plant grow to 5 to 6 leaves before overwintering, when the plant has the strongest cold resistance, so that it will not freeze to death in the severe winter and will lay a good foundation for the plant to successfully pass through vernalization. Now let us take a look at autumn-sowing garlic cultivation techniques!

Timely Sowing

The optimal sowing period for garlic is to let the plant grow to 5 to 6 leaves before overwintering, when the plant has the strongest cold resistance, so that it will not freeze to death in the severe winter and will lay a good foundation for the plant to successfully pass through vernalization. In the Yangtze River Basin and areas to its south, sowing is generally done in mid to late September. In September, the weather in the Yangtze River Basin is cool, which is suitable for garlic seedlings to emerge and grow. If sown too early, the seedlings grow too vigorously before overwintering and consume nutrients, which reduces overwintering ability; they may also undergo vernalization again, causing secondary growth and forming compound-clove garlic the following year, reducing garlic quality. If sown too late, the seedlings are small, with tender tissues, weak root systems, less accumulated nutrients, and lower cold resistance, resulting in many deaths during overwintering. Therefore, the sowing period for garlic must be strictly controlled.

Reasonable Close Planting

Close planting is the foundation of increasing yield. The yield of garlic bolts and garlic bulbs is determined by the number of plants per mu, the number of cloves per plant, and the weight of bolts and cloves. Appropriate close planting should be carried out according to the characteristics of the variety so that there are more plants per mu. Early-maturing varieties are generally shorter and smaller, with fewer leaves and a shorter growth period, so the density should be correspondingly greater, preferably about 50,000 plants per mu, with a row spacing of 14 to 17 cm and a plant spacing of 7 to 8 cm, using 150 to 200 kg of seed per mu. Mid-to-late-maturing varieties have a long growth period, tall plants, and more leaves, so the density should be correspondingly smaller to make the population structure reasonable and fully utilize light energy. The density should be controlled at around 40,000 plants per mu, with a row spacing of 16 to 18 cm and a plant spacing of about 10 cm, using about 150 kg of seed per mu.

Sowing Methods

“Plant scallions deep, plant garlic shallow” is experience gained by farmers through many years of practice. The generally suitable depth for sowing garlic is 3 to 4 cm. There are two methods of sowing garlic. One is insertion sowing, that is, inserting the seed cloves into the soil, then covering with soil and firming it down. The second is furrow sowing, that is, using a hoe to open a shallow furrow and dibbling the seed cloves into the soil. After opening one furrow, the soil dug out at the same time is used to cover the seed cloves of the previous row. After sowing, cover with soil about 2 cm thick, firm lightly with the foot, and water thoroughly. To prevent drought, two layers of rice straw or other moisture-retaining materials can be spread over the soil. Planting should not be too deep; if too deep, seedlings emerge late, the false stem is too long, the root system absorbs more water and fertilizer, growth is too vigorous, and the formation of the garlic bulb is compressed by the soil and difficult to expand. But planting should also not be too shallow; if too shallow, the cloves easily “jump” when emerging, the root zone is prone to water shortage during the seedling stage, root development is poor, and the plants are easily frozen to death during overwintering.

Cultivation and Weeding

Herbicides can be sprayed from sowing to before seedling emergence. Prometryn is effective against crabgrass, chenopodium, smartweed, foxtail, etc. in garlic fields, with 100 to 150 g per mu of 50% prometryn. Simazine and atrazine are used at 120 to 240 g per mu. Pendimethalin is used at 35 to 65 g per mu. For garlic fields dominated by monocotyledonous grass weeds, use 120 to 150 g of napropamide per mu 5 to 7 days after sowing (before emergence), add 30 to 50 kg of water to dilute, and spray in the evening. For garlic fields dominated by dicotyledonous broadleaf weeds, use 120 to 150 ml of 25% oxadiazon per mu, or 45 to 60 ml of 24% goal, 7 to 10 days after sowing (before emergence), add 40 to 60 kg of water, and spray in the evening. During the seedling growth period of garlic, cultivate as soon as weeds just sprout, which also removes the weeds. Weeds between plants that are difficult to cultivate should also be pulled out early to avoid competing with garlic seedlings for nutrients.