Assessment of dry matter accumulation and nutrient uptake pattern of garlic

Abstract

Field experiment was conducted to assess dry matter accumulation and nutrient uptake pattern of garlic. Plant samples were collected at 15 day interval from planting to harvest. The samples were partitioned, processed and analysed for macro and micronutrients. Results showed that total nutrients required to produce 6.7 t garlic bulbs/ha was 56.3 kg N, 13.5 kg P, 65.8 kg K, 30.6 kg S, 110.3 g Zn, 116.9 g Mn, 724.9 g Fe, and 26.2 g Cu. Garlic plants accumulated 84.7 and 84.6% of total nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) from planting to 75 days after planting (DAP). The peak N and K uptake coincided with the active vegetative growth stage. Whereas, the total phosphorus (P), sulphur (S), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu) uptake accounted for 59.5–66.7% of total uptake from planting to 75 DAP accounted. The peak uptake of these nutrients coincided with bulb initiation and development stages. Subsequently, an effective nutrient schedule could be developed for adoption by farmers.