Production and chemical characteristics of the populations of spring garlic (Allium Sativum L.) from the serbian genetic collection

Abstract

A great number of spring garlic populations are present in Serbia. It is a very heterogeneous biological material. To date, it has been little studied. Therefore, the aim was to study its production and chemical characteristics. Eighteen populations of spring garlic were examined. Most of the production of this garlic in Serbia is based on them. They were examined in Zminjak, which is located in the central Macva (Serbia). The method of field experiments was used. The research lasted for three years. The results comprise two groups of parameters. The first group contains the results which show the most important productive characteristics (weight of bulb, number of cloves per bulb, bulb yield). The second group consists of the parameters for chemical characteristics of the investigated populations (dry matter, etheric oil, and alliin). In this case, the populations demonstrated a significant influence, and their stability was also very conspicuous. Most of the investigated populations of spring garlic can serve as a good resultant material for obtaining new cultivars. The populations can be classified as follows: SG-18, SG-25, SG-28, SG-16, SG-29 (yield), SG-21, SG-26 (technological quality) and SG-29, SG-18, SG-16 (foodstuff and pharmaceutical quality). They can remain as populations, but it would be significantly better to create new cultivars by using them.