Two pot experiments were carried out at the Experimental Farm, Faculty of
Agriculture, Minufiya University during 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 seasons, to study
the effect of humic acid and/or pigeon manure and NPK fertilizers alone and their
combinations on the growth and chemical composition as well as yield and its quality
of two garlic cultivars (Chinese and Balady cultivars) grown in sandy soils. The
obtained results indicated that, significant increases in plant height, root system
length, number of leaves/plant, length and diameter of neck, length and width of the
s" leaf as well as the fresh and dry weights of whole plant when they supplied with
humic acid and/or pigeon manure combined with 1/2 and 1 NPK compared with
organic manures or NPK treatments alone. Also, the same treatments gave higher
concentrations of photosynthetic pigments, total carbohydrates, N, P and K in leaves
and bulb, as well as higher yield ton/fed and a greater diameter of bulb as compared
with the other treatments. The best vegetative growth and the highest total yield
(ton/fed) were obtained when plants treated by pigeon manure or humic acid with 1
NPK or 1/2 NPK. The respective increase in diameter of neck and width of the s" leaf,
fresh and dry weight of whole plant, total yield as well as bulb diameter were higher in
Chinese cultivar, whereas the N,P, and K concentrations in leaves and bulb were
greater in Balady cultivar. The highest yield was obtained by Chinese cultivar treated
with pigeon manure with 1 or 1/2 NPK.