BULBING PHYSIOLOGY IN GARLIC (ALLIUM SATIVUM L.) CV. “ROSADO PARAGUAYO” II. CHARACTERIZATION OF ONTOGENIC STAGES BY SHOOT GROWTH DYNAMICS AND ITS RELATION TO BULBING

Physiology of bulbing in garlic (Allium sativum L.) cv.
Rosado Paraguayo; II. Characterization of ontogenetic stages by shoot growth dynamics and its relation to bulbing.

Knowledge of the characterization of ontogenetic stages and measurement of growth parameters are important morphophysiological basis for increasing productivity.
The purpose of this work is to characterize ontogenetic stages by the dynamics of shoot growth and its relation to bulbing.
Trials were performed at an experimental plot of the Faculty of Agronomy, National University of Cordoba.
Medium and large seed cloves obtained from the second and third fertile leaf were sown.
Twenty plants were sampled at random every 15 days starting 10 days after emergence.
Total soluble carbohydrates (TSC), dry weight (DW), net assimilation rate (NAR), relative growth rate (RGR) and partition coefficient were determined in shoots, and TSC, DW and bulbing index (BI) in bulbs.

Results from the current and previous work show the following development stages in garlic:

Sprouting: from sowing to 20-30 days from sowing, adventitious roots, leaf emergence and TSC assimilation in seed cloves are observed.

Shoot growth: from the end of sprouting until 140 days after sowing (DAS) (BI : 0.42 ± 0.04), maximum LAI, NAR, RGR and TSC are observed.
Translocation of photosynthates to the bulb begins afterwards.

Bulb gowth: during the inductive stage, from sprouting on, no increases in DW nor in TSC can be observed up to 90 days.
In the morphogenetic stage (80 to 170 DAS, BI : 0.27 ± 0.04) DW as well as TSC increase.
Bulb filling takes place from 140 DAS to harvest (193 DAS, BI : 0.22 ± 0.02) when harvest maturity is reached.

Harvest Maturity is characterized by a minimum shoot DW, and in relation to bulb: maximum DW, minimum BI, maximum TSC, maximum soluble proteins, minimum peroxidase activity.
In this moment, “seed cloves” do not reach physiology maturity which obtain during postharvest.

I International Symposium on Edible Alliaceae

A. Ledesma, S.B. Núñez, J.A. Argüello

Garlic, ontogeny, net assimilation rate, total soluble carbohydrate, bulbing index, leaf area index, relative growth rate

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1997.433.42