Studies on Storage of Garlic Bulbs and Quality of Garlic Products

Abstract

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is an important and second most extensively grown Allium crop. It has been known all over the globe as a precious spice since ancient times for food preparations and curing numerous diseases and physiological ailments. India produces about 1.69 million tons of garlic annually. However, a substantial quantity of this is lost every year due to inadequate processing facilities causing a great revenue loss to the country. The post-harvest storage losses of garlic are mainly because of physiological disorders, infection, pests and lack of effective storage technology. These losses are very high (up to 40 per cent) under ambient conditions causing increase in the market price at a micro-level and decrease availability at the macro-level. Thus, the promotion and encouragement for eco-friendly effective storage technologies to overcome these storage losses is aimed to accomplish the need of ever-growing population. The indigenous technical knowledge acquired by the farmers needs to be tested and refined with modern techniques. This will further help the farmers to enhance their capacity building, especially in the trade sector. Contd.... newline