By AgroNigeria

Garlic is one of the most important herbs found in Nigeria and the second most widely used among cultivated Alliums after onion. It is a spice crop belonging to the same family as onions; Alliaceae. It is a widely recognized health enhancing supplement and its crop consists of an underground bulb and a vegetative shoot.

In Nigeria, garlic is massively grown in states like Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kaduna and Bauchi.

Variety
Over 70 varieties of garlic can be grouped into three major types mainly: great headed varieties, soft neck varieties, and stiff neck varieties. Suitable varieties should be carefully selected after considering the desired qualities like the time of maturity, yield and colour among others.

Soil Requirement
Garlic is a hardy perennial crop that can be grown in different types of soil, however, sandy, silt and clay loam are recommended for commercial production. The soil should be light, fertile, and rich in organic matter, well-drained, free from stones and gravel and capable of holding adequate moisture during the growing period. Garlic becomes discoloured in a poorly drained soil. It is best grown in a soil pH of between 6.0 and 7.0.

Planting procedure
Garlic cloves are taken from the bulbs and planted; size is very important in this stage because bigger cloves birth bigger bulbs at harvest. Soft cloves should not be planted and the base of the cloves should not be damaged. Planting depth can be between 3-6cm into the soil, 8-10cm between individual plants and intra-row spacing can be up to 20cm and a density of 475kg cloves per hectare.

Garlic requires rainfall between 600mm to 1200mm, minimum and maximum temperature between 50c- 250 and 250c-40c respectively.

Healthy cultivar should be soaked in clean water for a period of six hours at the least, thereafter, the outer skins should be removed, and the same are dried in a mixture of fungicide and insecticide to control fungi and insects.

Note: Mulching can be deployed to shield the cloves from direct sunlight and excessive water because garlic does not grow well in areas with excessive rainfall.

Irrigation
Irrigation facilities must be put in place for the plant to survive especially during the dry season. Small scale farmers can adopt simple/ basic irrigation methods (the use of bucket or watering can) while commercial farmers leverage technology like, sprinkler, drip and surface irrigation.

Weed management.
Weeds compete with garlic plants for nutrients, moisture, space, and light, ultimately decreasing the bulb yield. Proper weed management (either manually or chemically) is considered key to getting a higher yield.
For commercial farms, emphasis must be placed on techniques that reduce weed pressure before planting, such as the use of the stale seedbed method, weed-free seed, or soil solarization.

Fertilizer application
During land preparation, farmyard manure can be applied to the soil as organic fertilizer is very efficient in garlic production. Soil should be analyzed to determine the type and amount of fertilizer needed to be applied.
Inorganic fertilizer at the rate of 45;30;30 NPK per hectare is also ideal for large scale farms. Nitrogen can be applied twice after planting (3 and 6 weeks) while phosphorus and potassium are applied at planting.

Diseases and pest
White rot is a fungus that attacks garlic both at the base of the leaves and the root spread first in cold/damp weather. Once this disease is established the field is unusable for garlic production; the fungus can survive in the soil for 20 years and is one of the most damaging diseases of Allium crops worldwide, causing major crop losses. Other diseases include Downy mildew, Botrytis and Garlic mosaic virus among others.

For White rot, fungicide treatment may not be effective at controlling the disease under conditions which are favorable to the fungi’s development and control may have to rely on cultural methods: avoid transferring soil or plant material between sites; treat seeds with hot water prior to planting; use a long term rotation with non-allium crops; apply appropriate fungicides if available.

Garlic has a very few problems of pest being a natural pest repellent. Aphids, nematodes, mites, and thrips are among the common pests that attack garlic, meantime, appropriate insecticides can be deployed to salvage the situation in cases of invasion.

Harvesting
Garlic bulbs are mature for harvest at about four to five months (18 weeks) after planting which is often harvested when the leaves turn yellow or brown and begin to fall over.

STORAGE
Garlic bulbs are stored individually with the tops removed. The bulbs are stored in an uncovered or loosely covered container in a cool, dry, dark place. The flavor will increase as the bulbs are dried. Garlic can be stored in jute sacks, preferably in a mud house with a thatched roof.