EFFECTS OF PLANTING DATES AND COLD STORAGE OF PLANTING STOCK ON THE YIELD OF GARLIC CV. CATETO ROXO

Abstract

The high quality garlic cultivars in Brazil were grown only in the southern part of the country because of its higher latitude and cool climate during the growing season. These cultivars yield well also in lower latitude regions when cold storaged planting stock is used. Concerning traditional cultivars in the tropics, however, there is a lack of information on the effect of cold storage. Cateto Roxo is well adapted to the Brazilian tropics from the middle-west (Goiás) up to the north-east (Piauí). On this cultivar, four planting dates (March, April, May and June, 1994) combined respectively with four periods of cold storage (one, two, three and four months) at 5°C to 10°C, were tested in a randomized block design with three replications and split plots, in Goiânia, Goiás. The yield of both groups of treatments, cold storage and control, decreased steadily from March to June, following a linear regression. Cold storage showed a strongly depressive effect on the yield. One month of cold storage reduced yield in about 50% in comparison to normal storage, and after four months of cold storage the plants were too weak for growing through the straw mulch. The percentage of plants with bulbs along the scape tended to decrease from March to June.

KEY-WORDS: Allium sativum; cold storage; planting dates; yield.