Effects of Different Temperatures on Some Biochemical Contents in Garlic Bulbs

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) bulbs are generally kept at ambient temperature after harvest until their consumption.  Storage at ambient temperature could decrease the nutritional benefits of garlic bulbs. Therefore, cold storage after harvest is recommended to maintain garlic bulbs at the most beneficial stage.  In this study, bulbs of PI515971 and Kastamonu garlic genotypes were stored at 4°C and 21°C for 12 weeks and changes in total soluble protein, total thiosulfinates, sucrose, fructose, and glucose contents were measured at pre-storage and four weeks intervals during storage.  In general, total soluble protein content extracted from leaf primordia of cloves increased at 4°C storage but remained unchanged at 21°C storage in both genotypes. Total thiosulfinates increased at both temperatures but it was higher at 4°C storage. Sucrose and fructose contents of the bulbs of PI515971 genotype increased during eight weeks of storage but the increase was higher at 4°C. On the other hand, the response of Kastamonu garlic was different for sucrose and fructose contents. While there was a decrease in sucrose content after four weeks of storage at both storage temperatures, the fructose content increased significantly at 4°C storage. Glucose contents of both genotypes increased at 4°C storage but did not change at 21°C storage. These results demonstrated that cold storage of garlic bulbs had generally more positive effect on content of biochemical measured in this study.