Garlic – Quality Production in China

Proceedings 31st Meeting

13. - 15.03.2017, Bonn, Germany

Cao Menghui, XUZHOU LIMING FOOD CO. LTD, Xuzhou (China)

Federal Office for Agriculture and Food Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (BLE)

President: Dr. Hanns-Christoph Eiden

Deichmanns Aue 29 53179 Bonn, Germany

Telephone: ++49 (0)228 6845 - 0 Fax: ++49 (0)30 1810 6845 - 3444 E-mail: [email protected]

Editorial Dr. Ulrike Bickelmann, Division 223, BLE Telephone: ++49 (0)228 6845 - 3357 E-mail: [email protected]

Date of issue

July 2018

Garlic – Quality Production in China Cao Menghui, XUZHOU LIMING FOOD CO. LTD, Xuzhou (China)

The company XUZHOU 3000000,000 LIMING FOOD CO. LTD. has the chairmanship of the China 2500000,000 Chamber of Commerce of Food 2000000,000 and Native Produce (CCCFNA ) 1500000,000 and made a revenue of 200 million US$ with dry garlic in 2016. 1000000,000

500000,000 Definition of Produce 0,000 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Quantity(MTs) World 1395075,801 1606817,470 1732114,113 1734567,319 1510332,331 After harvest, the outer and inner Quantity(MTs) EU 53126,417 46900,294 47865,413 58306,292 49099,345 skin of the garlic bulb dry within Value(kUS$) World 1357610,040 1369037,297 1442660,505 1828380,345 2609625,726 Amount(kUS$) EU 10 to 15 days. In China, the garlic 69912,120 58059,399 54754,929 81186,643 105893,765 with dried skin is called “fresh Cultivation garlic”, while in the other countries (and the UNECE standard) it is called “dry garlic”. In fact, To understand the spectacular proportion “dry garlic” in China and the US is defined as of growing and export of garlic that China “dehydrated garlic”. The newly harvested garlic accounts for, we have to focus on the with very fresh and eatable skin is called “young cultivation history and the climate of China. garlic” in China and “fresh garlic” in other parts of the world including the UNECE standard. The cultivation history of garlic in China can be traced back to 1100 BC according to the The different name for the same type earliest literature inscription in Shi Jing. Garlic sometimes causes confusion or even serious is easy to grow in mild climates but is hardy problems. For example, the US Custom claims throughout USDA climate zones 4–9. In the an AD order tariff of 376.67 % on “fresh garlic” North and South of China it is either too cold or from China, but a low tariff of 35 % on “dry too hot to grow garlic. garlic”. In fact, and most important, garlic needs a particular low temperature for proper Statistics vernalisation. Vernalisation is essential for flowering, the development of bulbiels and the According to the statistics of FAO the world’s differentiation of cloves in the bulbil. Without harvest area and yield of garlic were 1,547,381 vernalisation only “solo garlic” could be ha and 24,939,965 MTs in 2014, while the produced. statistics of the Garlic Sub-chamber of CCCFNA report for the same type and year for China There are dozens of varieties of garlic in China, 791,407 ha and 20,058,388 MTs. It is most likely but the cultivars being well adapted to the that the FAO’s data of yield are based on “young specific climate zones are: in the North-east the garlic” which will lose 40 % of its weight to variety A Cheng, in the North-west the variety become “fresh garlic”, according to the Chinese Jimusaer, in the Middle, the Hybrid White and definition. China accounts for 51 % and 80 % of Hybrid Purple (in Spain called Spring White the world’s harvest area and yield. and Spring Purple), in the East the variety Jiading and in the Shandong Province the Export famous variety Cangshan. The three provinces, Shandong, Yunnan and In the past 5 years, the export of Chinese fresh Jiangsu contribute 50 % to China’s garlic garlic keeps relatively stable and is about 75 % production – as in these provinces the winter is of the world’s total export quantity, according cold and the rest of the year mild. In the South- to FAO. In 2016, due to the serious lack of west, in the provinces Sichuan and Yunnan, the harvest, the value was obviously higher than Sichuan Garlic and the Solo garlic are produced. that of previous years.

North East: North West: A Cheng Garlic Jimusaer Garlic

South West: East: Sichuan & Solo Garlic Jiading Garlic

Map source: http://backyardgardener.com The Yunnan province is a very beautiful highland province. The climate is warm Cultivation of solo garlic without any low temperature period, the soil is infertile, and the weak or small cloves of Solo garlic is not a specific variety but – in fact – Sichuan garlic are taken as seeds in very high an essential nature of agenisis (defective) garlic planting density. Thus, this province satisfies bulb, i. e. a none-floral-bud-differentiated bulb all four conditions for Solo-garlic. Especially of garlic. There are four factors related to solo around Dali, Yuxi and Qujing the Solo-garlic is garlic. produced.

Hybrid White/Purple Jiading

Solo Garlic Cangshan

Jimusaer A Cheng

30 In the past few years, Dali,Yunnan Solo Garlic 25 a processed garlic called “black garlic” 20 became popular in 15 China and even in the 10 world. More and more 5 solo garlic is used to 0 produce black garlic as Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Daily Average Highest（） 16 17 20 23 25 25 25 24 23 21 18 16 its skin is easier to peel （） Daily Average Lowest ℃ 3 4 7 10 13 16 17 16 14 12 7 3 after being cured (fermented) in high humidity ℃ 35 Pizhou, Jiangsu and high temperature environment for over 45 Hybrid White/Purple Garlic 30 days. After a series of complicated biochemical (Multi cloved) 25 20 reactions, polyphenols, polysaccharides and 15 SOD (by the way, ingredient of cosmetic 10 products) are produced. Thus, the black garlic 5 0 tastes sweet and aromatic. The content of SOD -5 in black garlic is ten times more than in fresh Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Daily Average Highest（） 5 8 14 21 26 31 32 31 27 22 14 8 garlic. （） Daily Average Lowest ℃ -3 -2 3 10 15 20 24 23 18 11 4 -2 ℃

The solo garlic does not show any differentiation of cloves. A solo garlic plant is about 60 cm high, while a normal garlic plant can grow up to 1 m.

According to the statistics of CCCFNA, in 2016, the harvest area in Yunnan province was 20,000 ha, half of which is solo garlic (10,000 ha). As the unit production of solo garlic is much lower than the multi-cloved garlic and is at about 6MTs/ha, the total production of solo garlic is about 60,000MTs. It is very hard to state the export quantity of solo garlic as it is declared to Cultivation the customs authority as fresh garlic. In general, garlic is planted early October and harvested early June, growing through 5 stages: The germination stage is about 10 days, the seedling stage about 180 days, bulb differentiation at the end of the seedling stage of about 15 days, the bolting stage of about 30 days (appearance of the scape and inflating of the bulb) followed by the inflating stage of about 60 days.

Generally, 1 ha farmland needs to be fertilized with 750 kg compound fertilizer and 30 MTs decomposed organic manure.

After the fertilizer and manure are incorporated with plough and harrow, ditching with a line spacing of 20 cm takes place. In seeding a row spacing of 15 cm is respected. Herbicides are applied after sewing. After application a film covers the field to keep the moister and to protect against grass and weeds. About 7–10 days after seeding, garlic germinates and emerges out of soil. At that time, the first irrigation is carried out; the second one follows early April. After the first irrigation tapping is necessary, in order to help young, soft seedlings to shoot out. In early May, the scapes are harvested in order to focus all the nutriments and energy to the bulb, i.e. to increase the final size of the bulb. As a secondary use, the scapes are eaten and sold / exported as so-called garlic-sticks. Finally, the bulbs are harvested.

Cutting of half of the thickness of the root plate eliminates all root tufts and is the fastest and easiest operation. After drying the trimmed root plate is slightly concave like a moon which gives the product a fancy appearance. After drying, the garlic is sized and graded and stuffed in bags separately. These bags are moved into a cold warehouse with the temperature at -2 to 0 °C. Storage time is 18 months and even longer. Finally, the garlic is loaded and shipped.

Post harvest handling

After harvest, the plants and roots of garlic are cut and trimmed off. Farmers in China trim the roots when the bulb is fresh harvested as at that time the trimming of roots and root plate is easy.

Pests and Diseases

Garlic plants are usually hardy and not affected by many pests or diseases. In China, there is no record of fatal suffers to garlic from pests and diseases in the past 40 years. However, in some areas, garlic plants do suffer typically from Garlic Rust Disease and Onion Fly.

Garlic Rust Disease (Puccinia allii (DC.) Rudolphi) is a typical disease of garlic prevalent in the garlic growing areas in the North, Mid and East China, where about half of the country’s garlic production are yielded. A dismal spring climate and a relative humidity of 80-90 % favours the development of this disease.

The Fungal Spores initially infect the leaves and stems, and produce small oval spot of fading green. Then the spots develop as dark orange uredium, bursting out the brown uredospore. This disease can cause the leaves yellow withered and may cause the whole plant to wither and die.

To control the Garlic Rust Disease, four To control the flies and maggots, growers need strategies are generally taken: to: • Avoid planting with other Allium species; • Use sufficient decomposed organic manure; • Balance fertilizing to improve the disease • Lure the flies; resistance; • Punch pesticides to kill the maggots while • Apply a heavy layer of straw to keep the irrigating. temperature in dismal spring; • Spray chemical fungicides.

The maggots of onion fly Delia( antigua) can cause 20–90 % losses of garlic in temperate regions. These flies lay eggs in small batches on the soil surface near the base of seedlings. The eggs are white and elongated with characteristic surface ridging and hexagonal pattern. The maggots prefer soils heavy in organic matter where they can survive and move to seeds and young bulbs.