Evaluation of Garlic Accessions for Growth, Yield, Quality and Resistance to Stemphylium Blight Disease in Northern India

Evaluation of Garlic Accessions for Growth, Yield, Quality and Resistance to Stemphylium Blight Disease in Northern India.

Garlic (Allium sativum L) is used in various forms worldwide. Twenty promising garlic genotypes were evaluated during rabi (October – April) season in 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 at National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation, Regional Research Station, Karnal, Haryana, India under All India Networking Research Project on Onion and Garlic (AINRPOG). The results indicated that the germplasm differ significantly as to the different morphological attributes, yield, disease resistance and other desirable traits. The height of plants varied from 85 to 95 cm in different genotypes whereas; there was a significant difference in number of leaves, neck thickness/ plant, bulb diameter (cm), bulb sixe index (cm), no. of cloves/bulb and bulb diameter (cm). The total soluble sugar (TSS) and dry matter (%) were also varied significantly in each genotype. The entries showed variable degree of pungency. Per hectare yield (q/ha) of garlic genotypes varied from 133.7 - 150.1, being lowest in G- 4 and highest in G-305. Considering the growth, yield, quality, disease resistance and other attributes characters as a positive trait of selection and yield potentiality also with other parameters, the lines G- 189, G- 176, G- 302, G- 304, G-369, G- 366, G-222 and G- 378 were found promising compared to check varieties (G-1, G- 41, G-50, G-323 and G- 282).