Garlic is a major cash crop for farmers of Madhya Pradesh in India.

Garlic can be a major source of income for farmers in Madhya Pradesh, but the crop is not without its challenges. Propagated from cloves saved from the previous harvest, seed-borne diseases can be quite high, and new plants can be severely stunted or even fail to grow.  At the same time, the emerging crop can suffer from several soil-borne diseases, particularly if soil conditions are poor. To deal with this, one common practice, that is now well-established, is to prime cloves with Kingfol Zinc70. This strengthens the emerging plant, boosts root production, promotes healthy growth and can be mixed in with other seed treatments.

OMEX introduced Kingfol Zinc70 into the seed treatment along with a pesticide to improve the germination, emergence and early growth of the new crop. To make this practical for farmers, OMEX provides free seed treatment services, using seed dressing drums that combine the Zinc and pesticide, making sure all cloves are effectively covered. For the 2020 season, over 6000 hectares of garlic were treated this way. Farmers are reporting improved germination, better growth, deeper rooting and healthier growth as a result. Another commonly used OMEX product for seed treatment is Primer Bio Zn, a similarly high concentration suspension containing zinc, but with the addition of a natural biostimulant. The natural biostimulant promotes rapid root development by providing natural auxins and cytokinins in the correct ratio. This dual-action early root and shoot development promotes even germination and allows the crop to take up water and nutrients rapidly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once established, one of the next major challenges comes in the form of abiotic stress, which often reaches a peak in October when the difference between day and night temperatures can be high. Farmers are finding that an application of OMEX Bio 20, 30-35 days after planting, is boosting early vegetative growth and reducing the impact of stress on crop development.

By combining the Zinc and Bio 20 treatments, the garlic crop develops a greater green leaf area. This directly translates to improved yield, and farmers are getting good results with this approach.

As the soils of Madhya Pradesh are mostly clay-based with high levels of free Calcium, the growing plant can find it very difficult to pick up sufficient Phosphorous and micro-nutrients to maintain optimum growth, fight diseases and tolerate insects. Crop quality can be reduced. Garlic that is low in Phosphorous will produce a thick neck and a small, poorly developed bulb. The cloves will have reduced vigour if they are used to propagate another crop. Farmers are finding that spraying the garlic with OMEX DP98 at around 50-55 days after planting will over-come many of these soil-related problems, resulting in improved growth, better bulking and a higher quality yield.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This can then be followed by applications of OMEX Sequential 2, to improve the size and colour of the garlic bulb. Farmers are also finding that this slows down vegetative growth and speeds up maturity, which can bring major improvements to bulb quality, uniformity and yield.

Combining the Kingfol Zinc70 seed treatment with OMEX foliar fertilisers delivers a complete nutritional agronomy package for garlic which brings impressive results. If you would like to know more about the products and services offered to garlic farmers, please contact us.