Egypt. J. Plant Breed. 20(3):465 – 492(2016) EFFICIENCY OF GENOTYPE SELECTION FOR YIELD POTENTIALITY IN GARLIC UNDER ORGANIC AGRICULTURE CONDITIONS K.G. Abdel-Rasheed 2 , Y.M.M. Moustafa 1 , E.A. HASSAN 2 , Y.Y. Abdel-Ati 1 and S.G. H.Gadel-Hak 1 1. Horticulture Dept., Faculty of Agri., Minia University, Minia, Egypt. 2. Central Laboratory of Organic Agri. (CLOA), ARC, Giza, Egypt. ABSTRACT This study was conducted to screen garlic genotypes under organic conditions at the Experimental Farm of Central Laboratory of Organic Agriculture "CLOA", El- Minia, during 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 winter seasons using 21 garlic genotypes which included; 11 white and 10 coloured types. All genotypes were soft-neck except Egaseed 2 which is hard-neck type and Clone 24 is semi hard-neck. The study site was uncultivated new reclaimed loamy sand soil with low organic matter and fertility. Soil amendment treatments were: 1- Plant compost at full dose (120 kg N/feddan). 2- Plant compost at a half dose (60 kg N/feddan). 3- Plant-animal compost at full dose (120 kg N/feddan). 4- Plant-animal compost at a half dose (60 kg total N/feddan). In both seasons, whole plants from each genotype were harvested, cured and stored at room temperature for five months. The obtained results show that soil amendment treatments had positive effects on all the studied traits except bulbing ratio. Also, the tested genotypes exhibited significant differences in all studied traits. The interactions among the studied factors showed that: It is possible to grow garlic under organic conditions. Garlic genotypes differed significantly in their response to organic conditions. Choosing suitable genotype (s) should be done to achieve an economic yield with good quality. Taking into consideration the grower needs and consumer demands, we concluded that the coloured cultivar Egaseed 1 and the white clone El-Wady could be suitable genotypes for organic conditions at the experimental site and similar conditions. Keywords: Allium sativum L., Genotypes, Compost, Organic production, Compost x garlic interaction. INTRODUCTION Garlic is one of the most important vegetables in Egypt. It is grown for both local consumption and exportation; either as green fresh, semi-dry, dry or processed products. The devoted mono-crop area was 22153 feddan in 2013, which produced 218429 tons with an average production of 9.860 ton per feddan. Yield of garlic can differ substantially among various production regions in Egypt. However, yield under new reclaimed soil conditions in 2013 ranged from 2.0 ton/fed for North Sinai region to 8.9 ton/fed for Noubaria region compared to the overall average of 10.3 ton/fed under the old (clay) land conditions (Agriculture Directorates of Governorates, 2014). Lower garlic yield and great variability among the existing cultivars could be due to suitability of the used genotype. Garlic genotypes adapted to the conditions of one region may not adapt to another. This means that the selection of suitable genotypes should be applied (Lammerts van Bueren et al 2002).