THE INFLUENCE OF FERTILIZATION AND LOCATION ON THE VEGETATIVE GROWTH AND YIELD PARAMETERS OF THE LJUBITOVAČKI ŠARAC GARLIC (Allium sativum L.)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the applied fertilization on the vegetative growth and yield parameters of garlic (Allium sativum L.) during cultivation at the locations in Split and Ljubitovica. The experiment with the local Ljubitovački Šarac garlic genotype was set up from the fall to the summer of the 2012/2013 growing season. Three types of fertilization were applied: a mineral, organic, and an organomineral one. Climatic conditions, vegetative growth, and the garlic yield parameters were monitored during vegetation. A location impact was statistically significant. In Split, better results were recorded concerning the plant height (35.8 cm) and the number of leaves (7.4), while better results were obtained concerning a percentage of the extracted heads (68.3%), total yield (427.5 g), and a percentage of the marketable plants (98.5%) at the Ljubitovica locality The effect of fertilization had no statistically significant differences. The area of Ljubitovica turned out to be more suitable for growing the Ljubitovački Šarac genotype, whereas the organic fertilization has not produced a negative effect on the investigated parameters of the garlic yield, which is contributing toward a possibility of growing this genotype pursuant to the organic agriculture legislation.