• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.30 no.2 s.109
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• pp.75-80
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• 2005

Mechanical characteristics of flower stalks (scapes) of garlic such as shear forces, cutting forces, and modulus of elasticities were investigated as a preliminary research to develop a mechanical harvester of garlic bulbils. The average shear forces of garlic scapes was 0.642 N and the maximum and minimum shear forces were 1.42 and 0.25 N, respectively. The shear forces generally increased as the diameter of garlic scapes increased. There was no correlation between the modulus of elasticity and the diameter of garlic scapes and the average modulus of elasticity of garlic scapes was around $2.40\times10^7\;N/m^2$ There was also no correlation between the cutting force and the diameter of garlic scapes. As the downward speed of blade increased, the cutting force of garlic scapes decreased and reversed to increase. The cutting forces of the lower part garlic scapes were lower than those of the upper part. The range of cutting forces of the lower and the upper part of garlic scapes were 3.88-4.04 N and 4.29-4.93 N, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.367-371
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• 2010

Farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPS) catalyzes the biosynthesis of farnesyl diphosphate, a precursor for many important terpenoid products. A cDNA encoding FPS was first isolated from Allium sativum (AsFPS) using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) PCR. The sequence of AsFPS contains an open reading frame encoding a protein of 341 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 39.61 kDa. Alignment of AsFPS deduced amino acid revealed high identities with other plants ranging from 79% to 85% and showed 2-high conserved aspartate-rich motifs known to be important for FPS activity. Furthermore, AsFPS expression was stronger in the green organs such as bulbils, scapes, leaves, stems, but weaker in bulbs and roots than on-green organs of A. sativum.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2017

We investigated growth, clove development, and photosystem II activity in garlic (Allium sativum L.) grown under different day/night temperature regimes using Soil-Plant-Atmosphere - Research (SPAR) chambers to determine the optimum cultivation temperature and to assess the impact of temperature stress on garlic. In the early stages of growth, plant growth increased markedly with temperature. At harvest time, however, the pseudostem diameter decreased significantly under a relatively low day/night temperature range ($14/10-17/12^{\circ}C$), suggesting that these temperature conditions favor regular bulb growth. At harvest time, the bulb diameter and height were great at $14/10-23/18^{\circ}C$, whereas the bulb fresh weight and number of cloves per bulb were greatest at $17/12-20/15^{\circ}C$. However, the number of regularly developed cloves per bulb was highest at the relatively low temperature range of $14/10-17/12^{\circ}C$, as were the clove length and fresh weight. The photochemical efficiency ($F_v/F_m$) and potential photochemical efficiency ($F_v/F_o$) of photosystem II in the leaves of garlic plants were higher at $14/10-20/15^{\circ}C$ and lower at temperatures below $14/10^{\circ}C$ or above $20/15^{\circ}C$, implying that the $14/10-20/15^{\circ}C$ temperature range is favorable, whereas temperatures outside this range are stressful for garlic growth. Furthermore, at temperatures above $20/15^{\circ}C$, secondary growth of garlic, defined as lateral bud differentiation into secondary plants, continuous growth of the cloves of the primary plants, or the growth of bulbil buds into secondary plants, was enhanced. Therefore, to achieve commercial production of fresh scapes and bulbs of garlic, it may be better to grow garlic at relatively low temperature ranges of $14/10-17/12^{\circ}C$.