Effect of Soaking Cloves and Foliar Spraying with some Stimulant Substances on Growth, Productivity and Storability of Garlic

Optimizing the growth and yield of garlic plants under the local environmental conditions of Egypt remains a major concern. So, field trials were implemented during two seasons (2023/2024 and 2024/2025) aiming to improve the performance, productivity and postharvest quality. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design, including nine treatments [T1: Control, T2: Dry yeast extract (Foliar only), T3: Amino acids (Foliar only), T4: Seaweed extract (Foliar only), T5: Spirulina algae (Foliar only), T6: Dry yeast extract (soaking + foliar), T7: Amino acids (soaking + foliar), T8: Seaweed extract (soaking + foliar), T9: Spirulina algae (soaking + foliar)]. Vegetative growth parameters e.g., plant height, fresh and dry weights were measured at 100 days after planting. Additionally, biochemical and chemical traits like D.M, TSS, VC, NPK and oil were determined at 120 days after planting. At harvest stage bulb yield traits were measured such as No. of cloves and total bulb yield. Moreover, the storability of garlic over a five-month storage period. The results showed that the order sequence of the studied treatments from the top (superior) to less was as follows;T9>T8>T7>T6>T5>T4>T3>T2>T1. Additionally, garlic bulbs treated with spirulina algae via soaking and foliar (T9) consistently retained the highest weight through each month of storage, showing the lowest weight loss compared to other treatments. Generally, it can be concluded that the natural biostimulants, particularly spirulina algae, through both soaking and foliar spray, is an effective and sustainable approach to improve garlic productivity and postharvest quality.