How to process spring and winter garlic before planting

A common problem for summer residents is poor crop preservation. It is painful to watch when vegetables stored in storage begin to deteriorate rapidly, because a lot of effort and work has been invested. The preparation of the future supply of vitamins begins even before they are planted. We will find out how and what is the best way to process garlic before planting so that it gives a good harvest of large bulbs and does not deteriorate during storage.

Why does garlic spoil?

The safety of the crop is determined by the conditions for plant growth and care. The main reasons for poor keeping quality are cold rainy weather during the growing season, violations of agrotechnical rules, absence or improper prevention. These circumstances lead to a number of diseases, which directly affects the shelf life.

And if a summer resident cannot disperse rain clouds, then adherence to agricultural technology and proper processing of valuable material before planting are feasible under any circumstances.

The preservation of garlic is primarily influenced by fungal and bacterial infections.

1. Cervical rot - during storage, a gray bloom from the spores of the fungus appears on the teeth. With such a lesion, they can neither be used as planting material, nor be eaten. The reason is infected planting material.
2. Green mold - flabby teeth have yellow spots, slightly deepened. As the disease progresses, a whitish-greenish mold with a characteristic odor appears.
3. Black (sooty) mold - the heads seem to be covered with a layer of black dust, and in a very short time - in 4-7 days the entire crop may be worthy only of a cesspool.
4. Penicillosis - watery spots that appear first on the surface of the onions, then penetrate inside. Spots, yellowish or brown in the first stage, quickly overgrow with green-blue mold.
5. Fusarium - the pulp of the cloves becomes pinkish, becomes watery. The decay process gradually develops, accompanied by an unpleasant odor. Winter garlic is more susceptible to Fusarium.
6. Bacteriosis - the inner scales gradually turn into an unpleasant-smelling mucus, deep pits-ulcers appear on the teeth.

How to protect garlic from disease?

The basis of protection against disease are:

• strict adherence to the rules for growing crops;
• timely disinfection of storage, including containers;
• strict rejection of dubious quality bulbs when laying for storage;
• careful selection and preventive treatment of planting material.

The last item on the list is perhaps the most important in the prevention of garlic diseases.

Preventive treatment of garlic before planting

The methods of pretreatment of planting material are divided into three groups, based on the means used - folk, biological, chemical.

Folk remedies

They are preferred by most summer residents, since they are free of toxic substances, always at hand, easy to use.

• Ash solution.

Prepared from 2 glasses of sifted ash and 2 liters of hot water. As it cools, the infusion stratifies, insoluble particles settle to the bottom. The light (transparent) upper part is drained after cooling completely, the cloves prepared for planting are soaked in it for an hour.

• Potassium permanganate.

A pale pink solution is prepared, planting material is poured into it. The processing time depends on the timing of planting: in the spring they soak overnight, in the fall it is enough to hold for 2-3 minutes.

• Birch tar.

The solution is prepared from 1 tbsp. l. pharmacy preparation and 1 liter of water. Processing time - 2-3 hours. The product protects the seed from pathogens of fungal diseases, repels pests, especially onion flies.

• Dusting with crushed chalk or lime.

The approximate powder consumption is 20 g / kg of seed. This powder will help prevent the appearance of some pests.

Summer residents speak positively about the simple procedure for disinfecting the cloves before planting in the fall - calcining. The oven is heated, the temperature is maintained at 40-42 ° C with the door ajar. The teeth are kept there for 10-12 hours. Calcination can be replaced with a hot bath (water temperature - 50 °) for 10-15 minutes, followed by a cold shower and drying.

A combination of folk and chemicals

Before planting spring garlic, the cloves are subjected to multi-stage processing.

1. It is kept in nitroammofoska solution for a day. The solution is prepared at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. fertilizers per 10 liters of warm water.
2. Disinfect for 20 minutes with a saline solution prepared from 1 tbsp. l. table salt and a liter of water.
3. Treated with a solution of copper sulfate (1 tbsp. L. Per 10 l of water) - 20 minutes.

If the bulbs of garlic are planted in the spring, they are kept in a mild soapy solution all night before planting. At the same time, the material is disinfected and the shells hardened during storage are soaked in water.

Winter garlic is processed in two stages:

1. salt solution - 6 tbsp. l. for 10 liters, 4 minutes;
2. copper sulfate solution - 1 tsp. 10 liters, 1 minute.

The cloves treated in this way are planted immediately, without washing, without drying.

Biological treatment

Biologically active agents have been developed to help protect garlic from diseases.

• "Zircon" - 8 drops are dissolved in a liter of water, the cloves or bulbs are kept for 1 hour. The drug protects against diseases, and also has a positive effect on germination and root formation.
• "Fitosposrin-M" prepare according to the attached instructions, the planting material is soaked for 1-2 hours.
• "Fitolavin" not only disinfects the cloves, but allows the use of slightly affected ones for planting. Use according to the instructions.
• "Biomix" - effectively prevents the development of bulb rot, planting material is treated with it, following the manufacturer's recommendations.
• "NV-101" often used to process winter garlic. A disinfecting solution is prepared from 1-2 drops of the product and a liter of water. Processing time is 30 minutes.

EM preparations ("Baikal", "Vostok", "Radiance") for the preventive treatment of planting material (protection against diseases, increase immunity, increase the yield) are prepared as prescribed by the instructions for use.

Chemicals

The use of strong chemicals is advisable if a large amount of garlic is planted (not a garden bed or another) or planting material of low quality.

• 1% solution of copper sulfate prepare for soaking overnight, in the morning the cloves are planted without rinsing, drying. It is especially important to disinfect with a substance if fusarium, penicillosis, white rot was noticed on the site.
• "Maxim" - 1 ampoule of the product is diluted in 1 liter of water, the teeth are kept for 30 minutes.
• Fundazol and its analogues are prepared strictly according to the instructions. Duration of etching - 1 hour.
• "Vitaros" prevents fusarium, penicillosis. The soaking solution is prepared from 2 ml of the product and 1 liter of water. Etching time - 2 hours.

When growing garlic using EM technologies, chemical fungicides are not used.

Also, for the preventive treatment of cloves, Borod's liquid, 1% solution of copper oxychloride, and other copper-containing fungicides are used. It is advisable to use such strong drugs only when fungal infections regularly appear on the site or planting material with signs of infection has to be used.

You can, of course, do without processing the garlic cloves before planting.But in this case, there is no guarantee that the garlic will grow healthy or that pests will not start in the forming heads. Moreover, such a crop is unlikely to be stored for more than a month, even under ideal conditions - the pathogenic microflora is ubiquitous, capable of inflicting a sneaky stab in the back at any moment.