# Evaluation of Garlic Landraces from Foggia Province (Puglia Region; Italy)
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Bulb Appearance and Biometrical Traits  
According to IPGRI descriptors, the Commercial Genotype (CG) used in this study was grouped as a 'flat globe' type with a'regular multi-cloved radial' bulb structure. Among the landraces, the bulb shape ranged from 'broad oval' for 'Panni', 'PanniD', and 'Monteleone', to 'flat globe' for 'Anzano' and 'Cortigli' and to 'globe' for 'Peschici'. All the landraces studied had an 'irregular' bulb structure, except for 'Peschici', which was in the'regular two-fan group' (Table S1 and Figure S1).  
Concerning the colour of bulbs (with dry tunics) and cloves (with thin skin) (Table S1), all landraces (except for 'Monteleone') were characterized by an evident yellow component (+b*) and a very small greenish component (slightly \(-\)a*), with a resulting hue and saturation C* values allowing colour identification as creamy. Bulbs and cloves of the 'Peschici' landrace distinctively presented a more vivid colour as indicated by the highest C* values. The instrumental data supported the reddish tonality of cloves of the 'Monteleone' landrace by the highest +a*, the lowest \(-\)b*, along with the highest h\({}^{\circ}\) values.  
A high variability was observed in biometrical traits of both bulbs and cloves (Table S2). The Principal Component Analysis (PCA), carried out on biometrical data, showed that the first two PCs explained 81% of the total variability, attributing 59.1% to PC1 and 21.9% to PC2 (Figure 1). PC1 discriminates the landraces from the Panni Municipality, clustered on the left-hand side of the axis. 'PanniD' was separated from all the other genotypes for the highest concentration in dry matter (DM). The lower moisture concentration of its bulbs is indicative of a higher resistance to post-harvest deterioration. This characteristic may explain the prolonged shelf-life attributed to 'PanniD', known by its local name '_Aglio Durevole di Panni_' meaning a long storage life. PCA also discriminates 'Peschici' from the other genotypes for the highest number of cloves per bulb (Number-c) (highly and positively correlated to PC1) and by the lowest weight of cloves (W-c) (highly and positively correlated to PC2).  
This high variability in morpho-biometrical traits in the examined landraces is, of course, the result of the long process of (un)conscious selection made by farmers and of their continued evolution in a certain eco-geographical area [9]. Although garlic is propagated asexually, using the cloves from the previous growing season, there is a great diversity in morphological (_agronomic_) characters, even between genotypes grown in the same areas for a long time. This is probably mostly a consequence of the accumulation of natural mutations and their evolving over time due to the selection pressures and cultural data in the minds of local farmers [19; 20].  
The variability of the morpho-biometrical traits of garlic genotypes has been widely reported [19; 21]. The biometrical traits of the collected landraces are of a high standard in terms of bulb and clove weight in comparison with other Italian landraces [19; 22; 23] and also in comparison with the tested CG. The DM accumulation of the cloves of collected landraces was also in line with the values reported in various landraces such as those grown in Greece [24] and several genotypes grown in Spain [25].