Two field trials were conducted on garlic clone Sids-40, in the vegetable
private farm at Kafr Meet Faris, Dakahlia Governorate, during 2001/2002 and
200212003 seasons to study the effect of some potassium-fertilizer levels at 0, 24,
48, 72 or 96 kg K20/fed, mepiquat chloride (pix) at 0, 250 and 500 ppm as a foliar
application and their interactions on the plant growth, yield and its quality as well as
chemical constituents of plant foliage and bulbs. Results showed that garlic plants received K-Ievels better than those of the
unfertilized ones. most studied characteristics of garlic plants were significantly
increased with increasing K-Ievels from 0 up to 96 kg K20/fed. Besides, the most
interesting observation was the increasing of the yield and its components by 96 kg
K20/fed in both seasons. Moreover, this treatment significantly increased
concentration of N, P, K, TSS and volatile oils in cloves comparing with those of the
other treatments. On the other hand, foliar application of pix at 250 or 500 ppm
significantly reduced plant height. However, increasing the applied pix level from 0 up
to 500 ppm significantly increased number of leaves, leaf area, plant dry weight and
bulbing ratio as well as total yield, bulb weight and diameter and clove weight. The
combined treatments of K20 levels and pix were generally more effective than with
single ones. The best results were obtained by using 96 kg K20/fed with foliar
application of pix at 500 ppm. Therefore, this treatment could be recommended for
raising garlic yield and improving bulb quality under similar conditions to this work.