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BIG NEWS FOR GARLIC |
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Contact: Gayle Volk, + 1 970 495-3205 2.27.09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RESEARCH OFFERS GUIDELINES
FOR FARMERS, VARIETY FOR CONSUMERS FORT COLLINS, CO—Consumer interest in new and
diverse types of garlic is on the rise. Fueled by factors including the
growth of the “local foods” movement, interest in world cuisines,
and widespread reports touting its numerous health benefits, demand for
high-quality, locally grown garlic is increasing throughout the U.S. While most grocery stores in carry the familiar white, “softneck”
garlic (which is most often imported), varieties of “hardneck”
garlic in colorful hues of purple, magenta, pink, and white are becoming
more available at local vegetable stands and through direct-marketing
programs. The results of a recent study of 10 garlic cultivars can help
farmers identify niche regional markets and offer new, in-demand garlic
varieties to consumers. Hundreds of garlic (Allium sativum L.) cultivars are available from seed
companies, retailers, and germplasm collections. Increasingly, growers
purchase bulbs from nonlocal sources and are often disappointed by unpredictable
yields. Garlic bulbs resulting from seed stock purchased in other regions
may not display the characteristics—such as bulb size, shape, and
color—featured in the catalogs. Gayle M. Volk of the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation,
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in
Fort Collins, and David Stern of the Garlic Seed Foundation authored a
study designed to determine which garlic traits are stable and which traits
vary depending on where the garlic is grown. According to the study published in a recent issue of HortScience and
funded primarily by the Northeast Sustainable Agricultural Research and
Education program, prior research has shown that traits such as clove
number, clove skin coloration, and topset number are representative of
cultivar type across growth locations, whereas “phenotypic”
traits such as bulb wrapper color, bulb size, and bulb elemental composition
are specific to sites. Ten diverse garlic cultivars (‘Ajo Rojo’, ‘Chesnok’,
‘German White’, ‘Inchelium’, ‘Purple Glazer’,
‘Red Janice’, ‘Sakura’, ‘Siberian’,
‘Silverwhite’, and ‘Spanish Roja’) were grown
at 12 locations in the United States and Canada for the study. One cultivar
representing each of the 10 garlic types was selected to best capture
the genetic diversity available within Allium sativum. In 2005, garlic bulbs obtained from producers in Washington were distributed
to 10 garlic growers who practiced sustainable production methods with
minimal or no chemical inputs. Small-scale garlic farmers were provided
with planting stocks from the same original sources and were asked to
grow them on their farms for two consecutive years using their best practices. At each location, 16 cloves per cultivar were planted in each of three
replicate plots. Bulbs were harvested when the lower one-third to one-half
of the leaves on the plants had dried. Six to eight bulbs of each cultivar
grown in each plot were sent to Fort Collins for data collection and analysis.
In Fall 2006, bulbs produced at each farm were replanted and grown for
a second season at the same farm (except for a change in the Colorado
farm and the addition of a farm in Ontario, Canada). Quality of planting
stock, bulb characteristics, bulb wrapper color, bulb yield, clove characteristics
and bulb elemental composition were analyzed. Growers also provided feedback
for the study using digital documentation, surveys, planting notes, and
harvest notes. Among the significant findings: bulb wrapper color and bulb size were
determined to be “highly dependent” on location and cultivar.
“It was not surprising to find that bulb size and circumference
were highly site-dependent and correlated. Bulb wrapper color is also
highly site-specific, supporting evidence reported by marketers that bulb
color is more determined by growth environment than cultivar types”,
Volk stated. The research offers promise for savvy consumers interested in more locally
grown, fresh garlic varieties. “As consumers start to recognize
and request garlic types by name, information about which traits define
specific cultivars and which traits are highly variable will be valuable
for successful marketing of new garlic cultivars”, explained Volk. |
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