271 AJCS 8(2):271-275 (2014) ISSN:1835-2707 Effect of foliar application of bio-stimulants on growth, yield, components, and storability of garlic (Allium sativum L.) Tarek A. Shalaby 1* and Hassan El-Ramady 2 1 Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, 33516 Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt 2 Soil and Water Sciences Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, 33516 Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt *Corresponding author: tashalaby@yahoo.com Abstract Increasing garlic yield and improving bulb quality are essential aims for growers to fulfill the requirements of the market and the consumers. Two field experiments were carried out during two successive seasons; 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 at a private farm to find out the influence of some bio-stimulants i.e., ascorbic acid, dry yeast, amino acids (Ruter and Total), seaweed extract (Alga 600) and Spirulina extract (Arthospira fusiformis) on plant growth, yield, yield components and storability of garlic plants "Balady" cultivar. One month after planting, foliar applications of bio-stimulants were applied, and repeated 3 times at 15 days intervals throughout the growing season. The design of the experiment was a complete randomized blocks (CRB) with three replicates. Results indicated that foliar application of Amino Total (1.2 ml l -1 ) effectively increased plant height compared to all treatments and control. Number of leaves per plant was the least (9 and 9.5) in control plants in both seasons. Application of yeast (2 g l -1 ) or amino total (1.2 ml l -1 ) showed the heaviest bulb weight (67.7, 72.0 and 69.5, 66.6 g) in the first and second season, respectively. Weight loss of bulbs was the least with the application of ascorbic acid. Keywords: Allium sativum L., amino acids, ascorbic acid, Spirulina extract, storability. Introduction Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is one of the main vegetable crops grown in Egypt for local consumption and exportation. Furthermore, it is cultivated for its flavor and medicinal properties, with the latter steadily arising worldwide (Collin, 2004). Therefore, increasing garlic yield and improving bulb quality are essential aims for growers. They both affected with any factor that influence plant growth and development (El-Morsy, 2004). The current global scenario firmly emphasizes the need to adopt eco-friendly agricultural practices for sustainable agriculture (Fawzy et al., 2012). Recent attention has been given to decreasing pollution sources in modern agriculture. One of the approaches to reduce soil pollution is the use of bio-stimulants, which have become commonly used as a safety nature of plant growth regulators, polyamines and vitamins. Such compounds can also improve plant resistance and tolerance to environmental stresses (Kowalczyk and Zielony, 2008). Recently, studies have proved that amino acids can directly or indirectly influence the physiological activities in plant growth and development. Also, amino acids are well known as bio- stimulants, which have positive effects on plant growth, yield and significantly mitigate the injuries caused by abiotic stresses (Kowalczyk and Zielony, 2008). Seaweed concentrate improved seedlings growth of okra under nutrient deficiency. It can overcome nutrient stress in crop plants and minimizing the use of expensive chemical fertilizers (Papenfus et al., 2013). It is known that yeast is considered as a natural source of cytokinins that stimulate cell division and enlargement as well as the synthesis of proteins, nucleic acids and chlorophyll (Fathy and Farid, 1996). Foliar application of yeast extract and ascorbic acid increased vegetative growth of eggplant (El-Tohamy et al., 2008). Also, Abou El-yazied and Mady (2012) found that yeast extract stimulated growth of broad bean and increased amino acid, auxins and cytokinins 75 days after sowing of broad bean. The application of ascorbic acid may have a stimulatory effect on plants, for example, its application caused significant increases in growth parameters and total yield of tomato during the cold season (Abdel-Halim, 1995). Similar results were found on other plants (El-Banna et al., 2006, Helal et al., 2005). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of some bio- stimulants i.e; ascorbic acid, yeast, amino acids (Total and Ruter), seaweed extract (Alga 600) and Spirulina extract (Arthospira fusiformis) on growth, yield, bulb quality and storability of garlic. Results Growth characteristics Results presented in the Table (1) showed a one season significant effect on plant height and number of cloves per bulb. Rather than that, all treatments significantly affected all growth characteristics in both seasons, except for bulbing ratio. The foliar spray with Amino Total gave the tallest plants with 90 cm and the differences among other treatments were insignificant. Number of leaves per plant was the least in control plants in both seasons. Total yield and yield components All bio-stimulants treatments clearly improved total yield per feddan, bulb weight and bulb diameter compared to the control (Table 1). Amino Total (1.2 ml l -1 ) followed by yeast and Amino Ruter had the most pronounced effect on total yield (9.8, 9.0 and 8.3 ton per feddan, respectively) during the