EFFECT OF DIFFERENT PHOTOPERIODS IN THE GROWTH OF TWO GARLIC (Allium sativum L.) CULTIVARS

Abstract

This experiment was made with two varieties of garlic, the Amarante and Centenario, under greenhouse conditions, to verify the effect of photoperiods of  9, 12 and 15 hours and natural sunlight on the growth of this vegetable. Plants exposed to photoperiods of 12 and 15 hours received 9 hours of natural light and incandescent light at aproximately 180 lux for the remaining hours. Results showed that the longer the photoperiod the lower the following dry weights in both types of garlic: the total, the exposed parts, sheathes, leaves and roots, and the longer the photoperiod, the lower the total number of leaves and leaf surfaces in the two types of garlic. In the Amarante variety, the highest rates of growth occurred earlier when the photoperiod was longer. In both varieties of garlic, the variations in photoperiods affected the growth of the bulb much more than they did the exposed parts showing that long photoperiods hastened the decrease of the bulbar ratio, and that the longer the photoperiod, the faster the development of the cloves. Plants of the Centenario variety which wore exposed to a photoperiod of 9 hours, showed a high rate of bulb rotting.