Nutritional Value, Chemical Characterization and Bulb Morphology of Greek Garlic Landraces

TLDR

Garlic is a globally important vegetable crop, yet in Greece its cultivated area is shrinking as local landraces are replaced by imported varieties despite their historical significance. The study aimed to evaluate Greek garlic landraces, imported genotypes, and commercial cultivars for chemical composition and bulb morphology. Researchers sampled garlic from Greece’s main production regions and measured total soluble solids, dry matter, nutritional and mineral content, organic and fatty acids, free sugars, and bulb morphology. The analysis revealed substantial diversity in quality traits and bulb morphology both between regions and within the same region, suggesting opportunities for breeding and conservation.

Abstract

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is an important vegetable crop throughout the world. In Greece there are many areas which have specialized in garlic cultivation through the last decades, considered the main production areas. However, despite the significance of garlic as a food product and the high annual income of this crop, there is a decreasing trend in total cultivated area in Greece, and the local landraces are gradually neglected in favor of new imported genotypes. In the present study, garlic genotypes (local landraces/varieties, imported genotypes, commercial cultivars) from the main production regions of Greece were assessed for their chemical composition and quality (total soluble solids, dry matter content, nutritional value, mineral composition, organic acids, fatty acids content and free sugars content), and bulb morphology. The results of the present study showed significant diversity in quality features and bulb morphology, not only between the genotypes from different growing regions, but also between those of the same region. This result is interesting since it could be implemented for further improvement and valorization of this important vegetable crop through extensive breeding programs within the framework of sustainability and genetic, material conservation.