Performance of Some Introduced Korean Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Cultivars in Ethiopia

Garlic is one of the most important crops used as condiments in Ethiopian. However, its productivity of garlic is less than half the world average. Lack of productive varieties and improved agronomic practices, as well as diseases and insect pests are the major causes of low productivity. The objective of the present study was to investigate an adaptive performance of some introduced garlic genotypes of Korean varieties in Ethiopia. The thirteen garlic genotypes were imported from the National Institute of Horticulture and Herbal Sciences (NIHHS), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea. The genotypes were tested for adaptation at Debre Zeit and Kulumsa agricultural research centers. Among the thirteen genotypes tested, only three genotypes Namdo, Daeseo, and Wangyo 57022 formed bulbs, while the remaining ten genotypes did not form bulbs despite the long growth period (179 days) taken to mature. The three genotypes had bigger bulbs and fewer but bigger cloves compared to the local varieties such as G-94-1/94, G-104-1/94, and Holeta local. A follow up replicated trial comparing Namdo with three local varieties was undertaken at Kulumsa. The replicated trial also showed that Namdo had better yield than the three local varieties. Moreover, it produced bigger bulbs and cloves than all the local varieties, which eases household and industrial processing of cloves. Therefore, verification of Namdo for production in Ethiopia could provide a better option for processing garlic.