Garlic is a crop that shows resistance to fertilizers, but it still requires additional feeding in the spring after the base fertilizer has been applied. In high-yield fields, the total amount of topdressing should be carefully controlled at around 12.5 kg of pure nitrogen and 5 kg of potassium per acre. Fertilization should be timed according to key growth stages: the vigorous growth period, which usually occurs around mid-April, is when nitrogen is most efficiently absorbed. During the bulb expansion phase, which takes place between Yu Shu and Li Xia, potassium becomes the most critical nutrient. Meanwhile, during the leaf formation stage, nitrogen is the primary nutrient required, and an early reduction in nitrogen supply can significantly impact yield.
During the bulb expansion phase, potassium deficiency may not be immediately noticeable in the early stages, but its effects become more pronounced later on. The sprout growth period is when garlic absorbs the highest amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. It's crucial to maintain a balanced nutrient supply throughout this time.
Garlic is also a sulfur-loving crop. Allicin, one of the main compounds responsible for garlic’s distinctive flavor, is a dithio compound. A significant portion of garlic protein contains sulfur, which plays a vital role in enhancing the quality and aroma of the bulbs. Research indicates that plants can only effectively utilize nitrogen and sulfur when the N:S ratio in the fertilizer is close to the optimal level. For garlic, the ideal N:S ratio is typically around 12:1. However, in northern calcareous soils, sulfur availability is limited, with only 2–3% being available due to fixation into calcium sulfate. Nitrogen utilization rates range from 30–35%, so the best N:S ratio for maximum efficiency is actually closer to 4:5.
Sulfur is not easily reabsorbed by garlic once it’s taken up, so it must be supplied during the middle growth stage to ensure maximum fertilizer effectiveness. Based on garlic’s nutritional needs, a 40% nitrogen and sulfur fertilizer (with N ≥ 17.5% and S ≥ 22.5%) is recommended. Long-acting fertilizers work well in combination with quick-release nutrients, and the addition of fulvic acid enhances root development, improves disease resistance, increases fertilizer efficiency, and helps prevent premature aging while boosting overall yield.
After rain or snow melt, it's an ideal time to apply green manure. At this point, 15–20 kg of 40% nitrogen-sulfur fertilizer should be applied to support healthy growth.
In early April, when garlic enters its rapid growth phase, 20–30 kg of 40% nitrogen-sulfur fertilizer should be applied to meet the increased demand for nitrogen and sulfur.
When the garlic sprouts emerge, applying 15–20 kg of high-nitrogen and high-potassium fertilizer mixed with water can help speed up the bulb expansion process and promote stronger growth.
Pediococcus Pentosaceus
Pediococcus pentosaceus are Gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic, non-motile and non-spore-forming, members of the industrially important lactic acid bacteria. Like other lactic acid bacteria, P. pentosaceus are acid tolerant, cannot synthesize porphyrins, and possess a strictly fermentative metabolism with lactic acid as the major metabolic end product (Axelsson, 1998; Garvie, 1986). Phylogenetically Pediococcus and Lactobacillus form a super-cluster that can be divided in to two sub-clusters, all species of Pediococcus fall within the Lactobacillus Casei – Pediococcus sub-cluster. Morphologically, pediococci (cocci; 0.6-1.0 mm in diameter) and lactobacilli (rods) are distinct. The formation of tetrads via cell division in two perpendicular directions in a single plane is a distinctive characteristic of pediococci. Pediococcus can be described as “the only acidophilic, homofermentative, lactic acid bacteria that divide alternatively in two perpendicular directions to form tetrads” (Simpson and Taguchi, 1995). Lactic acid is produced from hexose sugars via the Embden-Meyerhof pathway and from pentoses by the 6-phosphogluconate/phosphoketolase pathway (Axelsson, 1998). P. pentosaceus grow at 40 but not 50oC, between pH 4.5 an 8.0, in 9-10% NaCl, hydrolyzes arginine, can utilize maltose and some strains produce a “pseudo-catalase”. Pediococcus Pentosaceus
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