The length of garlic's growth cycle varies greatly depending on the planting period. The growth period of garlic sown in spring is short, generally 90-110 days; the growth period of garlic sown in autumn is usually 220-280 days due to a certain number of days of low temperature vernalization. Garlic generally uses bulbs as propagation material. Garlic generally uses bulbs as propagation material. Its growth process can be divided into 6 periods, namely germination stage, seedling stage, bulb bud and flower bud differentiation period, flower stem elongation period, bulb expansion period and dormancy period . In addition, when propagating with aerial bulbs, there is an aerial bulb expansion period after the underground bulb matures.
The period from sowing to the emergence of the basal leaves is the germination period. Generally, garlic germinates 10 to 15 days after sowing. The roots of the germination period mainly grow vertically, and the longest roots are more than 1cm, and the number of roots is more than 30. . The period from the first true leaf to the beginning of the differentiation of flower buds and buds is the seedling stage. It takes only 25 days for spring sowing garlic to survive the seedling stage. Autumn sowing garlic includes overwintering period. It takes 5-6 months of nutrition Growth lays a material foundation for the differentiation of scale buds and flower buds. Plant vegetatives fully grow during the bud and flower bud differentiation phase, root growth is enhanced, plant height and leaf area growth is accelerated, and nutrient accumulation increases, laying a material foundation for the growth of garlic sprouts and bulbs. After the flower bud differentiation ends, the garlic sprouts grow rapidly, and the scale buds also start to expand. The leaf area and plant growth reach the maximum, and vegetative growth and reproductive growth go hand in hand. This period is a critical period for the formation and development of product organs. After the garlic sprouts are harvested, a large amount of nutrients are transferred to the bulb, and the bulb quickly expands. After the bulb matures, it enters a physiological dormancy period of more than 2 months.