Effect of irrigation, planting position, and application of calcium silicate on garlic development in ‘Serra Gaúcha’ region, South Brazil

Garlic crop is widely distributed in the Serra Gaúcha region, South Brazil. However, there is little information relative to irrigation in garlic, and on the influence of bulbil planting position in the development of the crop. Silicon is being used in garlic as an auxiliary fertilizer, but it is necessary to study further its effects in the crop. This study aimed to verify the effect of different irrigation regimes based on the evapotranspiration and empirically, evaluate the development of the plants that germinated under different planting positions, and observe the physiology of the plants according to the different doses of calcium silicate applied to the soil. Experiments were carried out in the municipality of São Marcos, using a design of randomized blocks, with four repetitions in each treatment. Plant height, stalk height and diameter, germination percentage of the bulbils, and average bulb mass were evaluated. The observed results indicated that irrigation induced higher plant heights when it was carried out based on evapotranspiration; planting with the bulbils face up have had the smaller germination time and the highest average bulb mass; the application of silicon at the highest dose (800 kg·ha-1) increased the average bulb mass by approximately 18 %.