Onions and garlic are herbaceous, perennial plants. In its composition, the genus of onion plants proper includes over 300 botanical species, of which about 50 are known in Russia.
Of the cultivated onions in Russia, the so-called onion, or ordinary, onion, then puffy, or sandy, onion (it is also known by the name of batun and Tatar onion), leeks, chives, or skoroda, and ordinary garlic are cultivated in Russia.
The most characteristic organ of onion plants is the bulb, which contains reserve nutrients that support the life of plants during dormancy.
In addition, the bulb serves as a protection for the buds and young shoots located inside it from the adverse effects of external conditions. This property of the bulb is associated with a relatively significant cold resistance of bulbous plants and the long-term development of many wild forms wintering in the ground. Finally, the bulbs serve for the so-called vegetative, that is, asexual, reproduction.
Under vegetative propagation it means the cultivation of new plants not from seeds, but from separate, so-called vegetative parts, or organs, of plants: cuttings, rhizomes, tubers, bulbs, etc.
At onion the bulb is a strongly thickened formation, resembling a turnip in shape, in porrey it is a thick, fleshy, almost cylindrical, slightly expanded leg at the base, in puffy onions, skorda, etc., it is slightly thickened, elongated, oblong formation, and in garlic - head, usually breaking up into individual onions, or cloves.
In a mature bulb, the following parts are distinguished:
a) a shirt, or dry scales, fitting the outside of the body of the bulb, which are either colored yellow, brown or reddish-violet or without color - white;
b) common fleshy scales are white or yellowish (in red onions, the outer side is also sometimes colored). On a longitudinal section through the bulb, fleshy scales can be distinguished - open, passing into the neck of the bulb, and closed, not leaving the bulb;
c) fleshy scales, fitting individual rudiments and called together with them "children";
d) bottom - the main organ of the bulb, which is a shortened stem, on which buds (rudiments) and fleshy scales that fit them, which are leaf formations, develop;
e) heel - the lower dead and stiff part of the bottom, devoid of roots;
f) the neck of the bulb, consisting of leaf sheaths nested in each other.
Kidneys, or rudiments, are laid on the bottom in the axils of the fleshy scales. These rudiments give rise to the development of new bulbs, which subsequently separate from the mother plants.
Garlic bulbs ("garlic") differ from onions in that its rudiments, sitting on a common bottom, are covered on the outside not by common closing fleshy scales, but only by dry transparent films, or scales that are easily removed, and all the garlic breaks up into separate cloves. These teeth, in turn, are covered with dry scales.
The outer cloves in garlic are usually larger than the inner ones. In the case of throwing garlic arrows, internal cloves are not formed.
Rice. 1. Longitudinal section through the bulb: HH-height of the bulb; DD-full diameter; O-neck of the bulb; 1-dry shirt scales; 2- common fleshy open scales, passing into the neck of the bulb; 3 - closed fleshy scales; 4-heel; 5-bottom; 6 - germ.
Rice. 2. Cross section through the bulb: 1 - dry shirt scales, 2 - common open fleshy scales, 3 - closed scales, 4 - children, 5 - oppressed board (wedges).
The leaves of the onion, as well as the fleshy bulbs of which they are a continuation, are nested one inside the other. Each subsequent leaf germinates first inside the previous one, and then goes out through a special oval hole in the previous leaf. As a result, the leaves are free only in their upper and middle parts, and at the base they are covered by a tubular sheath.
Tightly adhering to their sheaths, to each other with their fleshy leaves they form together a kind of stem, called a false stem, in contrast to the bottom, which is a true stem that forms buds and scales (leaves).
Rice. 3. Germinating bulb: 1 - dry shirt scales, 2 - false stem, 3 - a special oval hole through which a younger leaf sprouts.
Onion leaves are tubular, hollow inside (they are usually called a feather), puffy onions also have hollow cylindrical speeds (chives) - thin tubular, garlic and leeks - wide, flat.
From the buds (rudiments) laid on the bottom of the bulb, not only new daughter bulbs can develop, but under certain conditions, flower-bearing shoots, or arrows that reach 50-100 cm in onions. The arrows form inflorescences consisting of numerous flowers. The shape of the inflorescence is mostly spherical (like a leek) or hemispherical, as well as ovoid (puffed onions). The flowers are small, carry 6 stamens with yellow or greenish anthers and a six-celled ovary. They sit on rather long peduncles, often crowded, but sometimes located loosely.
Flower petals are white in onions and puffy onions, lilac in skoroda, white with pink tint- at the leek. Garlic usually does not bloom, although there are quite frequent cases of the formation of arrows in it, on which, instead of inflorescences, so-called brood buds, or air bulbs (bulbs, often with underdeveloped flower buds between them. These buds usually do not open and do not produce seeds.
The fruit of the onions is a three-celled box, in which six seeds are located in pairs. When the seeds ripen, the box often bursts, and the seeds fall out of it.
Onion seeds are black (they are usually called "nigella"), they are rather small, irregular, flat, ovoid. In leeks, onions and pimento onions, the seeds are somewhat larger than in skorda. They have a thick skin.
Seedling development of onion and garlic
The development of a plant from seeds is rather slow, especially in cases of low seed germination. At favorable conditions soil and weather shoots appear approximately 10-14 days after sowing.
Further development of the seedling occurs as shown in Figure 4. During the first days after emergence, the first thin leaf protrudes above the soil surface in the form of a small hook ("loop"), bearing a black seed coat at the end. The leaf then straightens out and loses the seed coat.
The stem of the seedling is barely noticeable; it consists of a very shortened, thickened formation from which one unbranched, thin white root extends deep into the soil. Shortly after germination, new adventitious roots appear, and main root dies off.
Further development of the plant is rather slow. Only 14-20 days after germination, the second leaf develops, and after about 25 days, the third leaf appears.
By this time, a rather large bunch of roots is already formed, developing from a shortened stem-bottom, translating into the so-called false stem.
The root system of an adult plant consists of numerous white rather thick filaments devoid of root hairs.
It is located mainly in the surface layer of the soil and usually has a length of no more than 40 cm. Associated with this is the high demand of the onion for moisture and soil structure. Simultaneously with the development of leaves and root system Bottom part leaf sheaths thicken, and form a head (the so-called green onion head, in contrast to the winter onion), consisting of fleshy scaly bases.
Rice. 4. Development of onion seedlings in the first six days after germination.
In the axils of the scales of the bulb, buds develop (the number of them in different varieties and at different tricks cultures are different), from which, in turn, branches develop, giving rise to the formation of new, daughter bulbs, or children.
As the plant develops, the children separate from the mother plant, with which they are still connected for some time by a common heel, and then, three years later, they completely separate from it.
Whole onion scales. When the outer leaves dry out and the false stem dies off, the upper scales also die off, become thinner and acquire the color inherent in the variety. This is connected with the ripening of the onion, which consists in the suspension of the development of the plant and the onset of a dormant period.
Rice. 5 Onion seedling cut 25 days after germination
In order for the onion to stop growing and enter a dormant period, the onset of dry and more or less cold weather is necessary.
With dense sowing of seeds, practiced in order to obtain small onions, the plants first develop quite normally, and then, having reached a certain value, they begin to oppress each other. Thanks to this oppression, the onion stops its growth much earlier and ripens.
With more rare crops of seeds, the bulbs are larger, but their ripening is delayed.
Using dense sowing, small planting onion sets are grown from seeds. Onion sets should normally not exceed 1-2, in extreme cases, 3 cm in diameter.
A larger bow (more than 3 cm) is usually called an elective. The same name is also used for small onions obtained by vegetative propagation of bulbs in the 2nd-3rd and subsequent years of culture.
Following the selection, an even larger onion usually does not go for planting and goes on sale as an onion product, except for the selected, so-called mother onions, left for seed crops. Ripe and dried onion sets, hauls and queens are taken for winter storage, and in the spring of next year they are planted again.
At the same time, leaves and new bulbs, as well as flower-bearing shoots, begin to develop from the buds or rudiments laid in the axils of the fleshy scales. The common enveloping scales of the mother bulbs gradually die off.
Its bolting depends on the size, age and storage conditions of the planting bulbs, as well as on the variety. The larger the landing bow, the greater its ability to form arrows and bloom. The same ability is associated with both temperature and relative humidity at winter storage Luke.
With long-term (storage of onion sets in room temperature shooting does not appear. On the contrary, if stored in a basement at a low temperature (0 - 4 ° C), even a relatively small onion set exhibits a tendency to shoot, and the possibility of obtaining ripe seeds from it (the so-called "setting seeds") is not excluded.
Experiments have shown that the percentage of arrows in a sevka stored at low temperatures, can be significantly reduced by applying spring drying at a temperature of 25-30°C. As the onion ages, its ability to form arrows also increases.
Onions are cross-pollinated plants. Pollination of flowers occurs with the help of bees, flies and other insects that carry pollen from one plant to another.
Onions produce pollen in large quantities. At the latitude of Moscow and to the north, onion seeds ripen rather poorly. It is not possible to obtain satisfactory seeds here every year, although onions for green feathers and turnips are grown quite normally.
This is due to the fact that much more heat is required for the flowering and ripening of onion seeds than for the formation of its vegetative organs, i.e., leaves and bulbs.
Like other higher plants, leaves, buds, inflorescences are placed. The stem has the property of branching. Adventitious roots grow from its lower part.
The stem is called the bottom, its thickness reaches 0.3-0.8 cm, diameter - 2-3 cm. The shape of the bottom is flat, somewhat convex in the upper part. When the plant is fully ripe, it becomes woody, with traces of branching and attachment of teeth. The place of attachment of the cloves is convex, which is convenient for the mechanical separation of the bulbs into cloves before planting, or without a bulge. In the center of the stem of arrowed varieties is the base of the arrow. When cut early, it dries out and becomes inconspicuous; when cut late, it remains stiff.
Garlic leaves are characterized by a tubular base of the leaf blade. The tubular base of the leaves can reach a height of 20-30 cm or more. During the period of active growth, the leaves have a turgor state and together form the so-called false stem 0.7-1.1 cm in diameter. The next leaf grows from the previous one. It is elastic, especially in arrow varieties, since after the formation of the last leaf, a flower-bearing arrow is placed inside. The assimilation part of the leaf is flat, folded to varying degrees. The leaf is keeled below, grooved above. At the point of attachment to the tubular base, the leaf blade is thick, wide, becoming thinner and narrower towards the top. The leaf blade is more complex in continental forms and open in South Primorye. Leaf color varies from dark green to light green depending on variety and growing conditions. On the leaves of garlic, a wax coating is expressed to varying degrees, giving them a bluish tint. The width of the leaf blade at the base reaches 0.8-2.2-3.0 cm, the length of the blade is from 25-30 to 40-60 cm or more.
The lower part of the leaf tube in arrow varieties with a non-branching bottom covers the entire bottom around the circumference. In the branching bottom of arrow varieties and in most varieties of non-shoot garlic, the first 3-4 leaves cover the entire bottom along the periphery, and the subsequent ones only a certain part, that is, individual branches. Such bulbs have increased keeping quality.
Depending on the conditions of origin, the leaf blade has an unequal height of the tubular base and departs from the false stem at a different angle - from 25 to 45-70 °.
The number of leaves on a plant under normal development conditions reaches 7-9 pieces, with a change in storage conditions planting material and planting dates - 15-20 pcs.
Rice. 4. Types of garlic branching:
1, 2 - simple branching of arrowed forms; 3 - simple branching of winter non-shooting forms; 4 - simple branching of spring forms; 5 - complex branching.
Depending on the nature of branching, in arrowing forms of garlic, the laying of cloves (buds) takes place at the base of the last leaf or the last two leaves, in non-shooting forms, after the 3-4th and then, on average, 3-5 cloves are laid at the base of each subsequent leaf. Their number depends on the variety, storage conditions of planting material, planting dates, agricultural conditions and other factors.
The clove is a neoplasm that has a small bottom (stem), on which a closed juicy scale of white or white with a creamy tint is formed (the edible part of the bulb). Inside this scale, a growth cone of future leaves is formed on the bottom. At rest and until the complete formation of the leaf cone, there are no root primordia. They appear a little later, after the full maturation of the bulb and the creation of conditions for their growth (temperature, humidity). The rest period of garlic cloves is shallow and under favorable conditions, shortly after harvest or with a delay in harvesting, they can form roots and start growing. At the same time, the roots of the teeth of the shooter grow faster.
The mass of the clove ranges from 0.5 to 8-10 g. The shape is from short and wide to elongated. From above, the clove is covered with scales, at first juicy, and later, after the formation of the bulbs, it dries up to a parchment-like state. The stronger the scales, the better keeping quality garlic. The color of the scales is from white to purple or brown, depending on the variety and growing conditions.
The number of cloves in the bulb is from 1 to 15-20 pcs. and more, depending on varietal features, storage conditions for planting material, planting dates and growing conditions.
The teeth are mostly simple, but in non-shooting garlic they can also be complex (when there are 2-3 separate rudiments under the common scales). In some cases, they have their own scales, while in others they do not have scales. The shape of the tooth is shown in fig. 5.
Rice. 5. Shape of the chives:
1 - oval; 2 - columnar; 3 - rounded; 4 - cylindrical
The period of laying teeth in the conditions of Ukraine runs from mid-May to the end of June. The duration of the bookmark depends on the variety of garlic, subspecies and growing conditions. In shooters, it is shorter, in non-shooters, it is stretched, which is associated with the intensity of stem branching. The outer teeth in the bulb, as a rule, are larger and vary in size on each fork.
In arched garlic, with their radial arrangement, the cloves are relatively even in shape and size. In non-shooting varieties, they are heterogeneous. The pulp of the clove is tender, brittle, consists of parenchymal cells and conductive vessels.
When the teeth germinate, their juicy scales are a receptacle for nutrients for the young sprout and are gradually completely used. Integumentary dry scales are either carried by a sprout to the surface of the soil, or remain in the soil. It depends on the depth of planting teeth and the mechanical composition of the soil. The sprout goes beyond the closed scale through a gap in its upper part.
Rice. 6. Garlic Bulbs:
1 - darting forms; 2 - non-shooting forms with a simple type of branching; 3 - non-shooting forms with a complex type of branching; 4 - cross-section of the arrow-shaped bulb; 5 - cross section of a complex bulb with a simple type of branching; 6 - the same, with a complex type of branching; 7 - cross section of a complex bulb with two teeth in the axils of the leaves
The shape of the bulb depends on the location and structure of the teeth. With concentric placement of cloves, it has a regular round-flat or round-elongated shape; with eccentric group placement of cloves, the bulb has some angularity or protrusion of individual groups of cloves.
The loss of common integumentary dry scales is unacceptable, which is usually associated with late harvesting and leads to a decrease in the marketability of the crop or to its loss altogether.
The color of the dry integumentary scales of the bulb (from white to purple with intermediate shades) indicates the presence of a certain pigment. In most varieties of non-shooting garlic, dry scales are thinner than those of shooters, but more dense, which ensures their better keeping quality.
They hold the bulb well in the soil and, when the roots are alive, it is difficult to pull such a bulb out of the soil without digging.
With partial freezing of the root system in winter, with the onset of spring, with a live clove, new roots can grow from the bottom, but shoots are delayed. AT autumn period only a part of the roots located along the periphery of the tooth grows. Under favorable conditions, they reach 11-15 cm in length, and their number can be from 7 to 10 pieces. and more. With a lack of moisture in autumn, the roots develop poorly, and in spring the plants form a poorly developed vegetative mass and the bulbs are small.
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Garlic belongs to the onion family. It reproduces vegetatively - by teeth or bulbs (air bulbs). The flowers are sterile, drying.
The bulb of garlic consists of simple or complex cloves, which are covered on the outside with a common wrapper of dry scales.
The clove is a simple onion of an elongated shape with a pointed end. The onion has a bottom (stem) and consists of a kidney covered with a cap, fleshy, juicy, closed scales, and on top - leathery scales. With development, 8-12 leaves grow from each clove.
Thus, a ripe garlic bulb represents a family (clone) of separate independent organisms (cloves) capable of reproduction.
Garlic - perennial. When propagated by teeth, it is cultivated as an annual, and if by air bulbs, then as two and three years.
There are two types of garlic: Central Asian and Mediterranean. Each of them has arrowing and non-shooting varieties. Depending on the method of cultivation, winter and spring forms are distinguished.
In non-shooting garlic, during the growth period, cloves are formed in the axils of the lower part of the leaves in a spiral, in arrowed garlic - at the base of the last leaf in a circle. In the center of the bulb of arrowed garlic, after the growth of leaves from the growth point of the maternal clove, an arrow up to 150 cm high is formed, which ends with an inflorescence - a capitate umbrella. Air bulbs form in the inflorescence. Arrows are removed at the beginning of their appearance, this increases the yield by 15-20%.
With the cessation of leaf growth and the formation of cloves, the false stem of non-shooting garlic loses turgor and lodges. Dried leaves are a sign of the ripeness of the bulb, the beginning of garlic harvesting.
Shooting garlic plants, when the bulb ripens, lose the outer part of the leaves. Untimely harvesting of the bulbs leads to the decomposition of the wrapper and the disintegration of the bulb into teeth.
The root system formed on the bottom is fibrous, penetrating to a depth of up to 40 cm and a width of up to 40-50 cm. The bulk of the roots is located at a depth of 25-30 cm.
Garlic is a cold hardy crop. Minimum temperature for growth and development - 2-5°С, optimal - 15-18°С heat, when the bulbs ripen, 20-25°С is most favorable.
Bulbs of winter varieties withstand frosts up to 25°C. Leaves are less hardy. Shoots of garlic tolerate short-term frosts up to 15 ° C. Spring varieties of garlic are not frost-resistant, with autumn planting can winter under a layer of snow or under artificial shelter.
Garlic is demanding on lighting, it is a plant long day. This is a moisture-loving plant. high humidity soil is needed in the first two weeks after germination in spring garlic and during the period of spring regrowth in wintering. The need for moisture increases during the period of active leaf formation and the growth of the root system, as well as in the phase of the formation of teeth and the appearance of arrows. At this time, the garlic is watered more often.
Watering is stopped 20-25 days before harvesting. Excessive moisture leads to the scattering of the bulb and large losses. Garlic is picky about the fertility of the soil. High yields obtained on loose, medium and light loamy structural chernozems and chestnut soils.
The leaves are green, erect, ripening from the inside of the previous leaf. Stem with an inflorescence in the form of an umbrella. The mature part of the stem is a rounded bulb, with a slightly flattened head, consisting of small lobules, covered with leathery scales.
What it is?
Not everyone knows what kind of plant garlic is from a botanical point of view - a root crop, a herb or a flower, and maybe even a fruit, and some doubt whether it is an onion or not.
Garlic (lat. - Állium satívum) is a perennial plant belonging to the Onion subfamily, Amaryllis family. The main difference between garlic and other types of onions is that it has a complex onion consisting of cloves. This plant is an annual, propagated vegetatively - cloves or arrow bulbs. About 300 types of garlic are grown in the world.
How does it bloom?
Garlic flower - typical of onions, blooms depending on the time of planting (May-June). Bulbs develop simultaneously with flowers (300-500 are formed on the inflorescence)
There are special decorative varieties garlic, blooming with large lilac "balls".
A photo
In the photo below you can see what garlic looks like, including flowering, look at the leaves and unusual flowers this plant.
Brief history of occurrence
Garlic has been cultivated for thousands of years and originates in Central Asia. Already in ancient Egypt and Greece, it was cultivated as an agricultural crop. Garlic was not only eaten, it was also credited with mystical properties - protection from troubles and evil spirits.
Since ancient times, garlic has been valued for its healing properties, which was documented in 1550. Its antiseptic properties have been noted more than once and came to the aid of the inhabitants of France in 1720 during the plague.
Structure
Garlic consists of above-ground and underground parts. On the surface plants are located:
- Leaves- up to 1m long; narrow, pointed, flat, bright green.
- Peduncle ("arrow")- dense stem, up to one and a half meters; at the end it twists into a spiral crowned with an umbrella inflorescence.
- Inflorescence- a spherical umbrella, with a large number of small white and pinkish flowers.
- Fetus- a box on the arrows, formed after the flowering period.
Seeds in boxes almost never ripen.
Underground part:
- Bulb- forms 5-20 onion-children (cloves) in the sinuses, each of which is covered with its own hard shell. It has a rounded, flattened shape. Bulbs come in different colors: yellowish, white, pinkish, purple.
- root system- string-like, coming out in a bundle; as the bulb grows, the roots branch and are arranged in circles along the bottom; penetrates to a depth of 70 cm.
What is the difference between spring and winter?
:
- Planted out in the spring.
- It has a large number of randomly arranged lobules (8-20).
- The husk is soft.
- Planted in autumn (before winter).
- There are 5-10 large cloves in the bulb, evenly spaced around the central rod.
- The shell of the slices is hard.
Only the winter variety shoots arrows.
More information about the differences winter garlic from spring you will find in .
Benefit and harm
The benefits of garlic are due to its rich chemical composition, which includes a lot of vitamins and minerals.
Garlic has a positive effect on:
- immune system;
- the work of the heart;
- testosterone level;
- cleansing the blood of cholesterol;
- gastrointestinal tract;
- decrease in the amount of sugar in the blood;
- the rate of regeneration and renewal of cells and tissues.
Harm from the use of garlic is possible with the following pathologies:
- anemia;
- pancreatitis;
- gastritis;
- haemorrhoids;
- chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- individual intolerance.
We talked in more detail about the contraindications to the use of garlic.
We offer you to watch a video about the benefits of garlic and precautions when using it:
Can everyone eat?
Is an allergy possible?
Restorative recipes
Popular varieties
Spring
- Degtyarsky.
- Gulliver.
- Yelenovsky.
The growing season is 4 months, these varieties do not shoot.
Winter
- Komsomolets.
- Dubkovsky.
- Gribovsky anniversary.
Vegetation from 3-4 months, characterized by the presence of arrows.
unusual views
Growing step by step instructions
Garlic repels small rodents.An infusion of garlic will scare away birds when processing fruit trees.Garlic greens can be introduced in small doses into the diet of chickens and geese to prevent worms.
Garlic is a low maintenance vegetable. Healing properties plants have been known for a long time, And his taste qualities delight gourmets all over the world.
