Effect of withholding irrigation on yield contributing traits of garlic (Allium sativum L.)

A field study was conducted to compare the effect of withholding irrigation at different days before harvesting on yield contributing characters of garlic cv. HG-17. Five levels of withholding irrigation, i.e. 35, 28, 21, 14 and 7 days before harvesting were applied in randomized block design with four replications. Observations were recorded on yield parameters, i.e. weight (g), polar and equatorial diameter of bulb (cm), neck thickness of bulb and clove (mm), clove diameter (mm), length (cm) and number of cloves per bulb. The yield contributing characters were found to increase with the decline in days to withhold irrigation. The effect of withholding irrigation on number of cloves per bulb was found non-significant, while all other parameters exhibited significant variation. They were found to be maximum in the treatment where irrigation was stopped 7 days before harvesting and minimum where irrigation was stopped 35 days before harvesting.