What Fertilizer Is Best for Planting Garlic? A Full Guide to Fertilization Techniques

Garlic is widely cultivated across China, and its fertilization should follow the principles of "organic fertilizer as the mainstay, chemical fertilizer as a supplement; base fertilizer as the mainstay, topdressing as a supplement; apply coarse fertilizer carefully, apply chemical fertilizer skillfully" according to its growth and development and its fertilizer requirements and uptake characteristics, so as to maximally meet its need for nutrient elements during growth and development. Let's take a look below at what fertilizer is best for planting garlic!

What fertilizer is best for planting garlic?

As a crop with a relatively large sulfur requirement, garlic contains a large amount of sulfur-containing pungent substances. During growth, among its demands for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients, potassium is the greatest, followed by nitrogen, while 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 special-purpose fertilizer mainly containing N, P, K and S at about 40% should be produced according to the basic soil conditions of each region, usually made from urea, monoammonium phosphate, superphosphate, potassium sulfate plus other trace elements.

What are the fertilizer requirement 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 expansion stage. Before the differentiation stage, nitrogen uptake accounts for 30% of the total uptake.

2. Phosphorus: Garlic absorbs very little phosphorus before overwintering, and even less after entering the overwintering period. From the regreening 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 regreening stage, potassium uptake accounts for 26.7% of the total; and during the bulb expansion stage, it accounts for about 45% of the total potassium uptake for the whole growth period.

How should garlic be fertilized when planting?

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 middle, supplementary late". It is necessary both to prevent excessive vigorous growth in the early stage and to avoid fertilizer deficiency and premature aging in the late stage.

2. Land preparation and fertilization: Before sowing garlic, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied all at once in combination with land preparation, adding 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 per mu.

3. Applying the jointing fertilizer: Under normal climate conditions, garlic generally does not undergo field management during the regreening stage. The first topdressing should be carried out at the jointing stage, with 20-25 kg of nitro compound fertilizer applied per mu, and a second fertilizer applied after an interval of 15-20 days at about 20 kg per mu.

4. Applying the differentiation fertilizer: When garlic enters the differentiation and bolting stage, vegetative growth and reproductive growth proceed simultaneously, and the demand for phosphorus is strong. Wait until the garlic scape emerges (shows its tail), then apply 15-20 kg of high-phosphorus high-potassium compound fertilizer per mu, dissolving it first and then applying it by flushing.

5. Root-outside topdressing: Garlic root-outside topdressing should be carried out before 11 a.m. or after 4 p.m. on sunny days. Select 2 kg of ordinary calcium superphosphate or 1 kg of sulfur-based compound fertilizer, soak in 50 kg of water for 12 hours, take the clear liquid and spray it over 1 mu. In the middle and late stages, 1-2 foliar spray fertilizations can be carried out.