S03 - Session P2 - Growth and yield characteristics of “daeseo” variety garlic bulbs following meristem culture

Authors: Byeonggyu Min *, Gilseog Park, Mijin Lee, Jaecheol Seo, Miae Kim, Mijeong Park, Injong Ha

Most garlic varieties cultivated in Korea are infertile; as such, they are mainly propagated through the seed bulb. However, cultivating the same seed bulb for several years increases the concentration of pathogens and viruses within the bulb, which in turn can reduce garlic quality and productivity. Therefore, it is essential to replace the seed bulbs over time. Warm-season "Daeseo" garlic is a variety introduced from Spain that is suitable for peeled garlic processing due to its large number of cloves per a bulb; consequently, the cultivation area of "Daeseo" garlic in Korea has gradually increased because of its high productivity. In the present study, the growth and yield characteristics of meristem culture seedlings were studied with the aim of improving the quality and productivity of "Daeseo" garlic. Meristem culture seedlings were divided into current-year cultures and one-year propagated cultures, and these were cultivated to compare their growth and yield characteristics, e.g., appearance rate, secondary growth appearance rate, growth per period, bulb characteristics, and quantity, with those of normal seeds. The appearance rate of the current-year culture on the 20 th day after sowing was 20.1%, which was lower than that of both one-year propagated seeds (90.0%) and normal seeds (94.8%); however, the appearance rate following the wintering period was enhanced in the current-year culture to 91.9%, which was similar to that of normal seeds (95.6%) and one-year propagated seeds (97.4%). For one-year propagated seeds, growth before and after wintering led to leaf counts, sheath lengths, and sheath widths that were similar or lower than those of plants grown from normal seeds, but these variables were higher for one-year propagated seeds than current-year culture seeds. Secondary growth was not observed in either normal or one-year propagated seeds, but it occurred in 19.9% of current-year culture seeds. The yield per unit area (10a) of one-year propagated seeds was 2,207 kg, which was 20% and 122% higher than those of normal seeds (1,832 kg) and current-year culture seeds (994 kg), respectively. The length and weight of seed bulbs for one-year propagated seeds were 61.0 mm and 74.1 g, respectively, which were higher than those of either the current-year culture seeds (length: 47.1 mm; weight: 37.4 g) or normal seeds (length: 58.7 mm; weight: 64.4 g). The number of scales per seed bulb was 15.4 for one-year propagated seeds; this was lower than that of normal seeds (16.5) but higher than that of current-year culture seeds (13.2). The weight per scale of one-year propagated seeds was 4.8 g, which was higher than that of both normal seeds (3.9 g) and current-year culture seeds (2.8 g).