Garlic drip irrigation

Garlic is a well-known plant and is cultivated all over the world for both culinary and therapeutic uses. It contains allicin which is a substance able to improve the work of our immune system. The world’s largest producer is China. European countries are able to produce around 400,000 tonnes of garlic annually. Spain is one of the largest producers in Europe, followed by Italy.

Garlic characteristics

It is a plant native to Iran and is now cultivated in many countries around the world. It belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family. Garlic is a bulbous plant and technically biennial, but is usually grown as annual crop.

Roots: its root system is quite superficial, consisting of numerous roots and rootlets which are inserted on a bulb.

Leaves: fleshy and blade-shaped. The outermost ones resemble a stem and are silvery-green at the apex. The leaves arise from a short stem above the bulb and can grow up to 60cm tall.

Bulb: is made up of about 6 to 20 cloves (bulbets) which are surrounded by outer overlapping leaves that are aged and after the transformation are called tunics. Bulbs have a prevailing onion like flavour, they can be stored for over a year.

Cloves/Bulbils: are the edible part of the plant. They originate from an axillary bud and are covered by an inner protective sheath in which they are enclosed. They can be eaten but are also used as seed for new plantations.

Inflorescence/Spathe: the plant produces pink to purple flower, hermaphrodite and umbel-shaped inflorescence.

Stem: From the central part of the leaves starts the stem which is about 60-80 cm high. It is attached to the bulb’s neck.

Garlic requirements

Climate: Garlic has very low temperature requirements and prefers temperate and dry climates. The plant can withstand temperatures of -10, -15°C. Sprouting takes place at around 5°C while bulbils have favoured development on temperatures around 20°C.

Soil: It prefers fresh and well-drained soils as those of medium texture, which tend to be sandy. It also needs good fertilisation with mature manure.

Soil preparation: All the processes should be carried out during summer and it is necessary to make sure to obtain a very fine soil. Surface hoeing is sufficient.

Garlic varieties

Garlic varieties are numerous and can be grouped into three categories that differ in colour and harvest period.

ARTICHOKE GARLIC

The varieties belonging to this category have a white tunic and are characterised by large bulbs consisting of about 14 cloves of different sizes. It is a late-cycle plant and it conserves well, this is the most commonly seen garlic on the market.

PURPLE STRIPE GARLIC

The tunics of these varieties are rosaceae and yellowish. The bulbs are large with about 20 cloves, somewhat smaller than the cloves of common garlic. They are much earlier than common garlic but less storable.

CREOLE GARLIC

The outer tunics are white but the scale leaves of the cloves are red. They are quicker that the artichoke garlic and they have a good conservation and also have a certain spiciness. The characteristic of this category is that compared to the other two, they have the inflorescence about 30-40cm high which is used for fresh consumption.

Water supply on garlic

Garlic’s water requirements are not very high and it suffers from waterlogging, so careful irrigation solutions are needed. Water shortages can become a problem in arid and drought-affected regions where good irrigation is essential. In general, garlic is irrigated with micro-irrigation systems, of which drip technique is the most effective.

Only drip irrigation ensures that the farmer can carefully control the amount of water in the soil, avoiding root asphyxia and subsequent rot. In particular, this can be seen from the study conducted in India between 2000 and 2003, which compared drip and sprinkler irrigation. Both irrigation techniques were tested at 3 levels, 50% ET0, 70% ET0, 100% ET0.

INCREASED VEGETATIVE GROWTH OF GARLIC WITH DRIP IRRIGATION

Drip irrigation showed strong bulb and leaf growth compared to sprinkler irrigation. The height of the plant is very important for the development of the bulb as it increases its enlargement.

INCREASED YIELD OF GARLIC WITH DRIP IRRIGATION

The highest yields were obtained in drip-irrigated garlic. This increase is surely due to the fact that the soil remains constantly moist but avoiding excess water supply.