Nitrogen doses and nutritional diagnosis of virus-free garlic

Abstract

The recommendations of nitrogen (N) fertilization in garlic are still based on different varieties of the current types that are infected with phytopathogenic virus. There are several methods for recommendation of nitrogen (N) fertilization in garlic, but there are no enough methods for N diagnosis in garlic obtained by meristem culture. The objective of this work was to evaluate methods for diagnosing the nutritional status of virus-free garlic subjected to N doses through the use of a specific NO3- meter in soil solution and foliar sap, portable chlorophyll meter, N content in the leaf, and its relationship with yield and quality of the bulbs. The experiments were conducted with the use of virus-free seed bulbs from the meristem culture from three sites in the 2015 growing season and two locations in the 2016 growing season in South Brazil. The treatments consisted of the application of five nitrogen doses (0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 kg ha(-1)) distributed in three applications during the crop cycle: 1/3 in planting, 1/3 between 30 and 40 days after planting, and 1/3 after visual bulb differentiation. The highest commercial yield was associated with doses between 269 and 307 kg ha(-1) of N and the content of 26 g kg(-1) of N, in the diagnostic leaf. The relative chlorophyll content was the only diagnostic technology that showed a significant correlation with commercial yield in all experimental conditions. The evaluation of the N status in the virus-free garlic crop by a portable chlorophyll meter can be a quick strategy for recommending N fertilization and ensuring high yields.