What exactly causes garlic to grow in clusters?

Recently, in Anqiu, Cangshan, Zhucheng and other places, most of the garlic has already had its garlic scapes harvested, and at this time the underground garlic can still grow for a while, but according to vegetable growers in the above areas, the garlic has shown an abnormal growth condition, namely the clustering phenomenon.

In this regard, researcher Liu Mingjie, chief expert of the Shouguang Vegetable Association and the "Rural Mass Shandong Vegetables" weekly, personally went down to the fields to investigate this poor growth condition of garlic. The specific manifestation is that at the junction of the leaf sheath and leaf blade of the garlic plant, 1 to 6 new leaves grow. After pulling several poor plants out of the field, it was found that the underground garlic cloves had sprouted and grown new leaves again, drilling out of the ground along the gaps in the leaf sheath, and each plant had 1 to 6 such cloves. So from the aboveground part, the garlic plant shows a clustering phenomenon.

So, why exactly does this poor growth condition occur, and how can this phenomenon be avoided? Teacher Liu Mingjie says that to clarify this issue, one must first understand the normal growth environment and principles of garlic, and then analyze it in light of actual production:

1. According to relevant materials, the growth process of garlic can generally be divided into 6 stages: the sprouting stage, the seedling stage, the stage of differentiation of bulbils and flower buds, the stage of scape elongation, the stage of bulb expansion, and dormancy. The length of the garlic growth process varies greatly depending on the sowing date. Spring-sown garlic has a short growth period of 90-100 days, while autumn-sown garlic has a growth period as long as 220-240 days. The sprouting stage of garlic runs from the breaking of dormancy and sowing in the ground to the unfolding of the first true leaf, generally requiring about 10-15 days. The seedling stage runs from the unfolding of the first true leaf until growth stops and no more leaves differentiate; for autumn-sown garlic it is 5-6 months, while for spring-sown garlic it is only about 25 days. The stage of flower bud and bulbil differentiation runs from the start of flower bud and bulbil differentiation to the end of differentiation, called the "clove-splitting stage" in production, and generally requires 10-15 days. When the garlic bulb matures, that is, after the garlic heads are harvested, the plant enters the dormancy stage, generally requiring about 60 days. The length of the dormancy period is related to the variety; generally the dormancy period of early-maturing varieties is about 65-75 days, while the dormancy period of late-maturing varieties is only 35-45 days. Garlic field cultivation in various places in Shandong Province uses seed garlic and belongs to asexual reproduction.

2. Based on investigation of production and combined with the growth characteristics of garlic, experts preliminarily analyzed that due to the abnormal climate of last autumn and winter and this spring, the garlic grew vigorously and completed clove-splitting production in a relatively short time; in addition, with sufficient fertilizer and water in autumn and winter, some garlic cloves were not harvested and completed their dormancy period underground, then continued to grow first true leaves this spring, thus causing the phenomenon of partial garlic clustering. In plain terms, this is equivalent to planting this batch of garlic twice, from last year to this spring.

Preventive measures:

1. Adjust the sowing date appropriately. Sow appropriately later; due to the increasing severity of warm autumn and warm winter phenomena, vegetable grower friends can sow 10-15 days later as appropriate. If temperatures are normal, sow and manage according to the normal sowing period.

2. Do not cover with plastic film. After covering with plastic film, the growth and development of garlic before the New Year are promoted, making it easy to produce the phenomenon of completing the clove-splitting stage too early. In the following year, clustered plants are likely to appear. To prevent frost damage, wheat straw and the like can be spread over the field during the coldest period.

3. Appropriately reduce fertilizer and water management before the New Year. Before the Spring Festival, as long as the fertilizer and water needed for garlic emergence and basic survival can be guaranteed, that is enough; do not apply too much fertilizer and water, which would cause garlic to develop too early.