Key Points of Pollution-Free High-Yield Garlic Cultivation Techniques

Chengbei in Meijiang District is located in the urban area of Meizhou and is the main vegetable production base of the Meizhou urban area. Garlic is one of the main vegetables cultivated in our district. Chengbei Town is far from industrial and mining areas, and there are no enterprises discharging the "three wastes" nearby. The farmland atmospheric environment is good, the irrigation water quality and soil environmental quality meet the conditions for pollution-free vegetable production, the soil plough layer is deep, the soil is fertile, and the organic matter content is above 1.0%, which is suitable for garlic growth.

1 Land preparation and sowing

1.1 Land preparation The tillage depth is about 20cm. Fine tillage, harrowing level and harrowing firm are required, with no obvious clods, reaching "level, loose, fine, clean". Determine the length of the beds according to the water source and plant on raised beds. The bed length is 80-100m and the width is 4.2-4.4m.

1.2 Seed selection Manually peel off the skin and split the cloves, remove the tray and stem plate of the garlic, and grade them by large, medium, small and garlic heart; small garlic cloves are handled according to specific circumstances. The seed selection requirements are pure white with no red streaks, no wounds, no sugaring and no glossy skin. Seed size is the key to obtaining high yield. Select seeds of about 5g per clove for seed use.

1.3 Timely sowing Garlic should be sown at the right time. The planting time is from the end of White Dew to the beginning of Autumn Equinox (late September to early October), with a temperature of about 17C. Before sowing, sun-dry the garlic cloves for 1-2 days.

1.4 Reasonable close planting Generally, the row spacing is 20cm and the plant spacing is 16-17cm, with about 20,000 plants per mu. Plant in furrows about 5cm deep, and after planting cover the soil about 1cm above the garlic.

2 Field management

2.1 Irrigation Garlic has a relatively large water requirement, and generally needs to be watered 4 times during the whole growth period.

2.1.1 Film-covering water After garlic is sown, it needs to be watered in time, with 100 cubic meters of water per mu. Water sufficiently and thoroughly, without missing a single plant, which is beneficial to garlic germination and plastic film covering.

2.1.2 Strong seedling water Water around early April or when the ground temperature is above 15C. This helps promote garlic growth and encourages strong and large seedlings.

2.1.3 Bolting water Water when the garlic scape has just emerged, to meet the water needs of garlic bolting. At this stage, water thoroughly.

2.1.4 Bulb expansion water After pulling out the garlic scapes, water to enhance garlic bulb expansion.

2.2 Plastic film mulching Plastic film mulching is the key to increasing garlic yield. It can raise ground temperature, accelerate organic matter decomposition, reduce water evaporation, and satisfy garlic's environmental needs. After watering with the film-covering water, when the ground has slightly settled, carry out manual film mulching, stretch the film tightly and press both sides firmly, to prevent the film from being lifted by strong winds in autumn and winter.

2.3 Seedling release When garlic sprouts break through the soil, promptly pierce the plastic film to let the seedlings out. Generally, in the early morning or evening, when the temperature is low and the film has little elasticity, lightly pat the film with a new broom or lightly rake it with bamboo rake teeth.

2.4 Manual weed control During the garlic growth period, the temperature is relatively low, and weed damage mainly occurs after the Spring Festival. Because of plastic film mulching, manual weed control is used. The method is to use an iron strip or 8mm steel bar bent into a "7" shape to make a small furrow, break a small opening in the film and remove the weeds.

2.5 Pulling garlic scapes The best time to pull garlic scapes is when the upper part of the scape begins to bend upward from below. The method is to gently lift by hand every day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

3 Fertilization

The fertilization principle for pollution-free garlic is to mainly use organic fertilizer, apply a small amount of chemical fertilizer according to a formula; mainly use base fertilizer, with topdressing as a supplement.

3.1 Base fertilizer In late September, apply 5000kg of high-quality farmyard manure (fully decomposed stable manure, compost, cake fertilizer), 20kg of urea and 10kg of potassium sulfate per mu. Spread evenly, then deeply plough the field.

3.2 Topdressing In early April of the second year, together with watering for strong seedlings, apply 10kg of quick-acting urea per mu. In mid-April, dissolve 0.5kg of potassium dihydrogen phosphate in 50kg of water and spray per mu.

4 Pest and disease control

Because pollution-free garlic cultivation mainly uses organic fertilizer, the plants have strong disease resistance. In addition, during the garlic growth period the temperature is low, so garlic pests and diseases occur relatively lightly. The commonly occurring pests and diseases are leaf blight and garlic maggot.

4.1 Leaf blight Leaf blight is a major disease in the garlic growth process. When the damage is severe, garlic does not bolt easily, thereby affecting garlic yield. The general control method is: in mid-April at the early stage of the disease, use 100g of 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder per mu, dilute with water and spray once.

4.2 Garlic maggot Garlic maggot does not generally occur widely in ordinary years. In plots where garlic maggot occurs relatively heavily, combine with land preparation and, when opening furrows for garlic planting, apply 40kg of plant ash per mu in the furrows, which can effectively control the occurrence of garlic maggot. When garlic maggot damage is relatively serious, chemical control can be used. The control method is: in late April, use 100ml of 50% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate per mu, dilute with water, and pour the solution around the garlic roots.

5 Timely harvest

The garlic harvest season is generally in mid-to-late May, around Lesser Fullness, when the garlic leaves turn yellow and the cloves bulge. After harvest, the garlic should be dried in time so that it dries thoroughly, while also preventing exposure to intense sunlight and preventing sugaring. The usual method is: dry the garlic leaves and bulbs in the field for 10 hours, then cut off the garlic roots (when cutting, be sure to cut flat and clean, and never damage the garlic body), place in a ventilated place to continue drying, and when the garlic stalks are 80-90% dry, cut the garlic bulbs below 2cm of the stalk, bag them, and place in a ventilated place to continue drying, but do not expose them directly to intense sunlight. After the garlic is harvested, promptly remove the residual plastic film.