My stored garlic dries up, shrinks and some cloves sprout green. How do I cure and store it to keep it firm and saleable?
How to cure and store garlic (lehsun) to reduce sprouting and shrinkage?
KKishan Patidar7mo ago · 277 views
5 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓7mo ago
Garlic, like onion, needs proper curing before storage. Harvest at the right maturity when the lower leaves dry and the tops start bending, do not over delay or the bulbs split and lose quality. Cure the harvested garlic in shade with good air movement, leaving the tops on for a period so the necks dry and the outer skins become papery, which is what protects the cloves in storage. Store in a cool, dry, well ventilated place, since warmth and humidity drive sprouting and rotting while too dry and hot causes shrinkage. Store only firm, dry, disease free bulbs and remove any soft or mouldy ones. Avoid bruising during handling. Like onion, a maleic hydrazide treatment on the standing crop is sometimes used to reduce sprouting in storage but only per label and KVK advice. Confirm curing days and storage conditions with your KVK.
BBanwari Lal Patidar6mo ago
Curing with the tops left on, in shade with good air, gave me far better keeping than cutting the tops off straight away. The papery skins form properly and the bulbs stayed firm longer. Drying in harsh direct sun shrivelled mine, so shade with airflow is the balance.
DDinesh Anjana6mo ago
Harvest timing was my mistake one year. I left the crop too long and many bulbs split and the skins cracked, and those split bulbs never stored well, they dried and sprouted fast. Pulling at the right maturity when the tops bend fixed it.
MMohanlal Dhakad6mo ago
Storing in a damp, closed room sprouted my garlic quickly. A cool, dry, airy store made the difference. I also sort once during storage and pull out any soft or mouldy bulb, because one rotting bulb spoils the ones around it.
RRadha Anjana6mo ago
Handle the bulbs gently from harvest onwards, the bruised and nicked ones rotted first in my store. Pulling, trimming and bagging carefully so the bulbs are not knocked about kept more of them firm. Only the clean, dry, undamaged bulbs really hold over the months.