The optimal cultivation conditions for wild garlic (Allium victorialis var. Platyphyllum) under the forests as a non-timber forest product (NTFP)

Wild garlic is a leafy edible vegetable but its production in cultivated land is very poor. It is difficult to grow everywhere due to the specific environmental conditions under which it grows on the wild. Optimal cultivation condition and biosynthetic level of organosulfur compounds through forest cultivation of wild garlic were determined in five experimental forest sites. The survival rate of transplanted wild garlic seedlings was 73.3% in the S1 site ( Chamaecyparis obtusa dominant forest) but was as lower as 40% in Acer palmatum dominant forest and bare ground. During 3 years after seedling transplantation, the growth of wild garlic was high in Chamaecyparis obtusa dominant forest (S1) and Pinus koraiensis dominant forest (S5) compared to the other three sites. The soil physicochemical properties of these five sites are quite different from those of the major wild garlic producing areas in Korea. Organosulfur compounds, the main bioactive substance of wild garlic, consist of disulfide, methyl 2-propenyl, disulfide, methyl 1-propenyl, dimethyl trisulfide, diallyl disulfide, tetrasulfide, and trisulfide. These compounds were significantly different in each site, and the organic sulfur compound contents in P. koraiensis rain forest (S5) were 92.6% in the first year and 81.7% in the third year and decreased with plant growth. The growth of wild garlic was correlated with soil physicochemical properties, for example, available phosphate and calcium. Likewise, the concentration of soil minerals was correlated with the growth of plant and bulb of wild garlic. The results of the study will contribute improving the efficiency of the forest land with the cultivation of useful non-timer forest products.