Green garlic originated in Europe, where hard-necked garlic varieties, such as onions, are given a 'light-bearer 'and planted to obtain seeds. A 'light-bearer' in this context refers to a companion plant that aids in garlic growth. However, this light-bearer does not provide flowers or natural seeds; instead, it offers small cloves called bulbs. These bulbs are not of commercial importance. Instead, one of the most critical problems of its existence is the impact on the productivity of the garlic crop because it takes a large part of the food, which is at the expense of the size of the heads and the resulting lobes.
Therefore, the farmers cut these light stands so as not to affect the crop of the heads and sell them as green garlic because they contain taste. From here, green garlic was known, and then this idea developed and began to grow garlic to produce green garlic, especially since the soft-necked garlic varieties, such as the Baladi variety in Egypt, are not given to pregnant women, and now they are planted to obtain green garlic. The Baladi variety, known for its unique flavor and adaptability to local conditions, has become a popular choice for green garlic production.
Green garlic can be defined as a whole plant with leaves and a complete head. However, the head is incomplete, meaning that its lobes do not protrude from the circumference of the head and cannot be distinguished outwardly. This immature stage of garlic, resembling green onions, is what we refer to as 'green garlic.'
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What are the procedures for growing green garlic for export?
1. Seed specifications:
Garlic seeds grown for the production of green garlic must be as large as possible. The large cloves must be selected only with the exclusion of the small cloves. The large garlic clove gives a robust and large-sized plant that can overcome adverse environmental conditions during germination and growth, offers an oversized head volume, and is sold at a higher price.
2: Treatments carried out on garlic seeds before planting them:
**Breaking the dormancy phase in garlic cloves:
Garlic cloves enter a natural dormancy phase immediately after the crop ripens and harvests, meaning that they cannot germinate, even if they have all the conditions for germination (heat, moisture, oxygen, etc.). They remain so until the temperature drops in mid-September and early October.
Many garlic growers have complained about the low percentage of garlic clove germination in early cultivations.
This is because the cultivated cloves are still static and cannot germinate even if all the ingredients for germination are provided.
Also, the high temperature makes the moisture evaporate from around the planted clove, so the farmer resorts to watering the ground several times, thinking that it will speed up germination. An increase in ground moisture, a high temperature, and the inability of the lobes to germinate due to stillness lead to the rotting of the seeds and their not growing. To treat this problem, it is necessary to break the dormancy phase in the used seeds, and this is done by one of the following methods:
How to prepare garlic seeds for planting and break clove dormancy
- Soak the cloves in water for no less than 12 hours and no more than 16 hours at most so the cloves do not lose their peel. This period is suitable for seeds of hard-necked varieties, while soft-necked garlic can be soaked for no more than 12 hours only for delicate cloves. Garlic for extra moisture...
- After soaking the cloves, the water is filtered, placed in a burlap bag, and incubated in peat moss in a warm place for 2-3 days to break the dormancy stage and push the embryo to germinate inside the clove. Then, it is planted on the land prepared for this in advance, and the irrigation process is carried out after planting.
- We store the whole heads after removing the vegetative growth without removing the cloves at a temperature of 5-18 degrees Celsius for three weeks. We disassemble and plant the cloves directly, then water the soil immediately after planting.
- Soak garlic cloves in a gibberellin solution at a concentration of 50 parts per million for an hour immediately before planting.
- Soak garlic cloves in a gibberellin solution at a concentration of 50 parts per million for an hour immediately before planting.
* This procedure would reduce the germination period by more than half of the germination period in the case of regular cultivation, as the germination period in the case of cultivation without breaking the dormancy of the lobes may reach more than 35 days.
3: Planting date of green garlic:
The date of planting garlic to produce green garlic differs from that of cultivation to make the mature heads. In the first case, early planting is crucial to prolong the period of plant growth, as green garlic is harvested during February. Delaying its cultivation will shorten the development period of plants that need a long growth period to give good vegetative growth capable of forming large heads desirable for export. This knowledge will help you plan your cultivation process effectively.
They are sold at a high price, as a kilogram of green plants with large heads (8–10 cm) is sold much higher than green garlic plants with small heads (less than 5 cm). So, dear farmer, be keen on early planting with large cloves, then breaking its dormancy through one of the previous methods, water, and planting it in the ground with service operations on time. God willing, you will get the highest productivity and the highest price.
The date of planting garlic to produce green garlic differs from that in the case of cultivation to make the mature heads, as the first case requires cultivation as early as possible to prolong the period of plant growth. Green garlic is harvested during February, and delaying its cultivation will shorten the development period of plants that need a long growth period to give good vegetative growth capable of forming large heads desirable for export. This knowledge will help you plan your cultivation process effectively.
So, dear farmer, be keen on early planting with large cloves, then breaking its dormancy through one of the previous methods, water, and planting it in the ground with service operations on time. You can expect the highest productivity and price with these steps, leading to significant profits. Get ready to start your green garlic cultivation journey and reap the rewards!
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What are the mistakes made by green garlic producers?
1. Planting garlic in mid-September, early October, and in February, when the green garlic export season begins, the large plants are selected and sold as green garlic, and the small plants are kept in the field.
This reduces its productivity in the new season because the small clove gives a weak plant and a small head. If it resorts to buying new seeds at high prices, the cost may be much more than it achieves from selling large plants such as green garlic.
2: The process of sorting the seeds and excluding the small lobes has yet to be carried out. This results in the heterogeneity of the growing plants, and when harvesting them in February, we notice the presence of small plants with a tiny head of 3 cm or less that may be excluded from the source garlic.
3: Planting with dry cloves. It is not soaked in water for a sufficient period, commensurate with the cultivated variety, at the expense of the vegetative growth period.
4: Do not break the dormancy of the seeds before planting them, which leads to rotting and a significant decrease in the germination percentage in the field.
Agriculture Practices:
- The same practices are used in garlic cultivation to produce mature heads.
Harvesting and the operations conducted to prepare the crop for export:
Plants are uprooted before growth is completed, when the leaves are fresh green, and before the lobes emerge from the bulb circumference. Plants are uprooted using the hand in the case of light lands or using iron pegs placed under the plants to facilitate the uprooting process while being careful not to cut or scratch the bulbs during uprooting.
- Transport to packing houses:
The plants are tied in bundles and packed in plastic boxes. They are then transported to the packing house and placed in refrigerators until the processing and preparation operations are carried out.
4- sorting:
During the sorting process, plants with mechanical damage from plucking, such as cuts or bruises on the head, are excluded. Plants with disease or insect infestations, plants with small heads, and plants that do not match the variety are also excluded.
5: Scaling or resizing:
In it, a metal plate made of wood or plastic is used, with slots that determine the different diameters of the garlic head through which the different diameters can be determined, generally preferably from 5 cm to 8 cm, and this diameter may be less or slightly more, according to the importer's request.
In it, a metal plate made of wood or plastic is used, with slots that determine the different diameters of the garlic head and through which the different diameters can be determined—generally, preferably diameters from 5 cm to 8 cm, and this diameter may be less or slightly more, according to the importer's request.
5: Root pruning for green garlic:
For this, sharp knives are used to cut the roots and not damage the base of the plant (the head) during the pruning of the roots.
6- Refinement green garlic:
The dry and yellow outer leaf is removed, and the leaves covering the head are left, using sharp scissors with non-pointed edges. The throne (vegetative aggregate) is cut 6–8 cm above the level of the head or according to the importer's desire.
7- Packing of green garlic:
A: Use cardboard boxes of 36 x 29 x 13 cm weighing 5 kilograms. These packages can accommodate 50 heads of garlic if the diameter of the head is between 5 and 6 cm or about 40 heads if the diameter of the head is between 6 and 8 cm.
B: Net sacks weighing 5 kilograms to accommodate the same number of heads.
C: A wicker straw weighing 5 kg to accommodate the same number of heads.
8-Labeling of green garlic:
It is indicated on each package.
A: Name of the product (crop)
b. The name and address of the source.
C: Net weight.
9- Storage of green garlic:
The most suitable temperature for storage or shipment is 0°C with a relative humidity of 90–95%. Cardboard packages are preferred when shipping by plane to European or Arab countries. It is also preferable not to export or store garlic mixed with other crops, as these crops are affected by the smell of garlic and lose their quality. Garlic may be shipped to European countries by ships in containers of 10–12 tons.
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