The objective of the present study was to evaluate growth and production of micropropagated plants (apical meristem culture) compared with plants conventionally multiplied. Treatments consisted of two forms of multiplication (meristem culture and conventional plants), four garlic cultivars, five evaluation times (30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 days after planting) and randomized block design with four replications, in a split-plot scheme. Plant height and number of leaves/plant were taken. Pseudostalk diameter/bulb ratio was measured after 60 days of planting. After harvest, mean weights of bulbs, total and commercial yields were obtained. The tissue culture plants have increased their cycle about 18 days as compared with conventional ones. Shoot growth expressed by plant height and number of leaves/plant and growth of bulb expressed by pseudostalk diameter/bulb ratio of tissue culture plants were superior to conventional plants, and these differences were greater for the cultivars "Gigante Roxão" and "Gravatá". In the same way, all characteristics related to yield (mean bulb weight, total and commercial yields) of plants multiplied "in vitro" were superior compared with conventional ones. As for tissue culture multiplication, cultivars "Gravatá" and "Gigante Roxão" were the most productive, while for conventional multiplication the cultivars "Gravatá" and "Lavínia" presented the highest production.
Allium sativum; garlic; meristem
