Effect of Sowing Date and Planting Density on Yield and Yield Components of White Garlic of Hamadan

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is one of the most important vegetable crops in Iran. The most suitable sowing date and planting density are very important management practices in garlic production. Therefore, effect of sowing date and planting density on yield and yield components of white garlic of Hamadan was studied in Hamedan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center in 2007-2009 growing seasons. The experiment was carried out as split-plot in randomized complete block design with there replications. Sowing date at four levels; 09 October, 24 October, 09 November and 24 November were assigned to main plots, and planting density at two levels; 550 × 103 and 740 × 103 plant/ha were randomized in sub-plots. Effect of sowing date and planting density and their interaction on yield, clove weight, clove diameter, number of clovelet in each clove and number of skin layer were studied. Results showed that the best combination of sowing date and planting density was 20 October with 740000 plant/ha with yield of 24.1 tons/ha. Therefore, this combination can be recommended for production of white garlic of Hamadan under similar conditions.