Garlic Farming: Profitable and Lucrative Agribusiness Venture

Why Grow Garlic?

Garlic is a valuable crop in the onion family, used for cooking and medicine. It has a white or purple head, similar in size to an egg, made up of smaller cloves. When added to dishes, garlic, also known as kitunguu saumu gives off a strong and pleasant smell.

Garlic

Farming garlic can be profitable but requires close attention. Farmers need certified seed cloves, good soil, and sufficient water to grow quality garlic bulbs.

Nutritional Benefits

Health benefits of garlic include:

1. Strengthening the immune system, hence helping fight off bacteria and viruses, and treating colds and flu.
2. Helps in supporting heart health by improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure.
3. Garlic is rich in antioxidants that may help prevent cancer.
4. Helps in lowering cholesterol levels.

Garlic Varieties

In Africa, garlic is divided into two main types: soft neck and hard neck. Soft neck varieties are common in Kenya, including Africa giant, Arusha giant, and Rwanda giant. These come in various colors from white to purple.

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Best Areas for Garlic Cultivation

Garlic grows best in areas with low humidity, moderate rainfall, and stable temperatures. In Kenya, good growing regions include Nyeri, Murang’a, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Machakos, Embu, Meru, Laikipia, Nakuru, Narok, Kajiado, and Bomet.

Suitable Climatic Conditions for Garlic Farming

The ideal climate for garlic features temperatures between 24°C and 30°C, moderate rainfall, and altitudes from 500 to 2000 meters. Garlic prefers well-drained, fertile soil rich in organic matter with a pH between 5.5 and 6.8. Testing the soil is important for preventing diseases and ensuring good production.

Planting

Garlic is planted by placing the seed cloves directly in the ground. Cloves can come from existing garlic or purchased. Buying certified cloves from local agrovet stores is best, as they resist pests and diseases.

Garlic Farming Under Irrigation

Field Preparation

The soils should be well tilled to provide a loose growing bed for bulb development; therefore soils should be ploughed thoroughly 3-5 times and leveled properly. Land set aside for garlic production should not have been grown with another Alliaceae family (onions, shallots and leeks) for 3 years to control pest and diseases as well as maintain soil nutrients. 

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The field is ploughed to the depth of 15- 20 cm and ensure to remove volunteer plants in the field in order to avoid spread of diseases. Then mix the soil with manure before planting.

Garlic grows best in well drained fertile soils that are high in organic matter, incorporating crop residues or well-rotted manure into heavy soils will result in the soil being suitable for production

Planting

Create ditches 25 cm apart, with 15 cm between each plant and 30 cm between rows. Plant the cloves root end down, covering them lightly with soil. After 7-10 days, the garlic will germinate. During this time, consistent watering is important, and mulch can help if needed.

Fertilizer Requirements

Applying manure/compost is vital for garlic production since garlic has longer growing period. Manure releases their nutrients slowly which is suitable for garlic growth and can improve storability of garlic. As garlic is shallow rooted vegetable and has un-branched root system and low nutrient extraction capacity, it requires relatively high amount of nutrients for best growth and development. Therefore, basal application of manure/compost is essential.

Organic manure provides nitrogen for early growth. After four weeks, apply organic foliar fertilizers every ten days to support leaf growth and bulb development.

Irrigation

Garlic has a rather sparse and shallow root system; therefore, it is sensitive to water stress throughout the growing season. Any period of dry soil conditions, especially during bulbing period will result in yield reductions. Irrigate every 3-4 days from planting until more than 80% of planted cloves sprout, then it can be reduced to once a week. Irrigation should be stopped 3 weeks before harvest or at maturity stage when leaves start senescing or turning yellow and necks become soft. Note that drip irrigation is the most effective method.

Mulching

Covering the soil surface with straw or any other materials to conserve soil moisture and suppress the weeds is essential. This method can also effective for rust disease control since mulch can protect soil from rain drop splash.

Weeding

Garlic has shallow roots and sparse canopy; therefore it’s difficult to compete with weeds especially at the early stage of growth. Weeding is done after germination to avoid uprooting of garlic plants by hand. First weeding is done 1-2 weeks after emergence, and second weeding 4-5 weeks after crop emergence. Do not weed when the soil is wet to avoid compaction. Deep cultivation close to the plants should also be avoided.

Common Pests and Diseases

Pests

Garlic naturally repels pests due to its strong odor. Common pests include red ants, thrips, and aphids.

Diseases

Diseases affecting garlic farming include, leaf rust, white rot, downy mildew, and powdery mildew.

Management

Regular weeding, field checks, and good sanitation help protect against pests and diseases. There is a wide variety of organic pesticides and fungicides to apply to garlic crops in case of advanced pest infestation.

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Garlic Harvesting

Harvesting is done from 90-120 days after sowing depending on the temperature of the growing area. Increase in bulb size of garlic continues until the leaves of the plants begin to dry, turning tan brown from the tips toward the base of the leaves. Bulbs should be harvested when leaves turn yellow, necks soften and/or bend over. Those bulbs have distinct and well-formed cloves which can store well.

A Garlic Farming Field

Early harvesting results in bulbs which are immature and tend to shrivel when cured. Late harvesting may lead to stained bulbs, decayed wrapper leaves and loss of roots leading to splitting of cloves due to attack by black mold and sclerotium rot.

Post-Harvest Handling

The purpose of the curing is to store longer duration and prevent diseases and pests, hence prolonging the shelf life. After harvesting, the plants should be moved from the field into a dark, dry, well-ventilated area for drying and curing of the bulbs. Bulbs should be moved out of the sunshine as quickly as possible after digging. 

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Do not dry by laying the plants in the sunshine. Tops and roots can be removed after several weeks when drying and curing are complete. The top of a cured bulb is topped at about 2.5cm above the bulb. Hanging garlic bunches under ceilings of houses is also common practice to maintain planting material for next season.

Garlic Storage

Storage life under appropriate conditions could be 5-8 months at room temperature for seed purpose depending on the variety. Storage at 0 degrees Celsius and 60% relative humidity can prolong storage period. The higher the temperature the shorter the storage life. Adequate air flow and proper storage containers are important to remove transpired heat and moisture, otherwise, higher relative humidity provides suitable conditions for development of mold and root growth.

Market Outlook

The price of garlic fluctuates based on the season and quality, typically ranging from Ksh. 150 to Ksh. 250 per kilogram. A single garlic head can sell for Ksh. 10 to Ksh. 50. There is a strong demand for garlic in Kenya, as a large portion of the supply comes from imports, mainly from China. With an initial investment of Ksh. 75,000 on a quarter-acre farm, it is possible to produce between 1.2 and 1.5 tons of garlic, which can earn around Ksh. 120,000 to Ksh. 150,000. If managed well, garlic farming can be a profitable business with significant returns.

• Seedlings per acre: 100kg garlic cloves
• Spacing:  30 cm between rows, 15 cm between plants
• Market price per kg: Ksh. 150 - Ksh.250
• Yield per acre: 6-8 tons
• Common pests: Red ants, thrips, and aphids.
• Common diseases: Leaf rust, white rot, downy mildew, and powdery mildew.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is garlic farming profitable?
• How much is 1kg of garlic seeds?
• How many months does garlic take to mature?
• How many kg of garlic to plant per acre?
• Where is the best place to grow garlic in Kenya?
• How many tons of garlic per acre?
• What are the climatic requirements for garlic farming?
• What is the best soil for garlic farming?