Development of Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Varieties for Lowlands using Plant Growth Promoting Microbes (PGPMs)

Local garlic varieties (Allium sativum L.) are one of Indonesia's leading germplasm sources, but their productivity remains limited in certain regions. The expansion of garlic cultivation from highland areas to lowland areas faces challenges due to poor variety adaptation. The use of Plant Growth Promoting Microbes (PGPMs) groups is an alternative to help improve the growth, yield and resistance of garlic to growing environments with extreme climate conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the growth and production capabilities of garlic using microbial groups at various altitudes. This experiment used a two-factor randomized block design with three replications. The first factor used four varieties of garlic (Jangkiriah Adro, Lumbu Hijau, Lumbu Putih and Lumbu Kuning), and the second factor applied five microbial treatments (control, PGPMs1, PGPMs2, PGPMs3, PGPMs4). The results of the study in the highlands showed that the Jangkiriah Adro variety with the provision of PGPMs1 and PGPMs2 was the best with an average plant height of 42.64 cm, 6.92 leaves, and tuber weight of 9.91 g which was significantly different from the Lumbu Hijau, Lumbu Putih and Lumbu Kuning varieties, but in the lowlands Jangkiriah Adro did not produce tubers this was because the variety was sensitive to extreme climate factors. In the lowlands, it showed that the Lumbu Hijau variety with the provision of PGPMs1 and PGPMs3 was the best with an average plant height of 26.27 cm, 3.58 leaves, and tuber weight of 3.22 g which was significantly different from the Jangkiriah Adro and Lumbu Kuning varieties. Lumbu Hijau variety with the help of microbial was able to adapt to a growing environment that was very different from the area of origin of the variety, namely the highlands, by showing the same results as Lumbu Putih which was an adaptive variety in the lowlands. Keywords: Amaryllidaceae, genetic resources, altitude adaptation, microbes, osmolytes, phytomicrobiome