Garlic Sowing in Punjab 2026: Plant in October, 200 kg Cloves an Acre or 800 kg for NARC G-1

Plant garlic in central and southern Punjab during October 2026; northern Punjab's window ran from late September to mid October. The Punjab Agriculture Department's advice for 16 to 31 October sets 200 kg of healthy cloves an acre for ordinary varieties and 800 kg for NARC G-1, with two bags of DAP and two of SOP at land preparation.

Garlic sold at Rs 399.25 a kilo on average in Pakistan in the week to 8 October 2026, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, almost what it cost a year earlier. The big cost for a grower is the seed. Garlic is planted from cloves, not seeds, and an acre of the large NARC G-1 type needs 800 kg of them. We read the department's Urdu farm advisory for 16 to 31 October 2026, signed by Shahbaz Akhtar, Director General Agriculture (Extension) Punjab, and set out its garlic advice below in plain English.

Garlic sowing time in Punjab ends in October

The department says garlic is planted in northern Punjab from late September to mid October, and in central and southern Punjab during the month of October. On 20 October, that leaves the centre and south about ten days. The north's window has closed.

A grower in the north who has not planted yet should ask the local extension office before going ahead late. The advisory gives no late-sowing dose or advice.

The department approves two garlic varieties: Lehsan Gulabi and NARC G-1

The advisory names two approved varieties, Lehsan Gulabi and NARC G-1. NARC stands for the National Agricultural Research Centre in Islamabad. The two varieties' seed rates differ by four times.

Pick the variety before you budget, because the seed cost follows from it. An acre of NARC G-1 needs four times the weight of planting material. Buy cloves from a trusted source and keep the receipt, since diseased cloves carry the disease into the field.

Use 200 kg of cloves an acre, or 800 kg for NARC G-1

For ordinary varieties, the department asks for 200 kg of healthy medium and large cloves an acre. For NARC G-1 the seed rate is 800 kg an acre. Plant cloves four inches apart in rows eight to ten inches apart.

Small cloves give small bulbs, which is why the advisory says medium and large. In the revenue measure where an acre is 160 marla, a marla is 272.25 square feet, so a five-marla plot is about 1,361 square feet and an acre holds 32 such plots, by our arithmetic.

Plant in level five-marla plots, two to three centimetres deep

The department says to divide prepared land into plots of five marla each and to make every plot level. Sow cloves in lines on the level ground, pressed two to three centimetres into the soil, with the root end down and the pointed tip showing above.

1. Prepare the land and, if you can, spread 20 to 25 tonnes of farmyard manure an acre a month before planting.
2. Apply two bags of DAP and two bags of SOP an acre at land preparation.
3. Divide the field into level plots of five marla each.
4. Split bulbs and keep the medium and large cloves for planting.
5. Press each clove two to three centimetres deep, root down, tip showing.
6. Keep four inches between cloves and eight to ten inches between rows.

A level plot lets irrigation water spread evenly, so every line of cloves gets the same amount.

Fertiliser is two bags of DAP and two bags of SOP an acre

The advisory says a good yield is possible if 20 to 25 tonnes of farmyard manure an acre is applied a month before planting. At land preparation it adds two bags of DAP and two bags of SOP an acre. At current prices that chemical dose costs about Rs 65,100 an acre.

The costs are our arithmetic from Pakistan Bureau of Statistics average retail prices for the week to 8 October 2026: DAP Rs 17,127.78 and SOP Rs 15,422.22 a bag. The advisory for this fortnight gives no urea dose for garlic, so any top dressing advice will come in a later advisory. Urea and DAP prices move every week, so buy from a registered dealer and keep the receipt. A Punjab Kissan Card can be used to buy inputs at listed dealers.

Garlic prices have held steadier than potato prices. The vegetable price report for the same week showed garlic 2.59 per cent below a year earlier, while potatoes were down 39.51 per cent.

Common questions

When is garlic sown in Punjab?

Late September to mid October in northern Punjab, and during October in central and southern Punjab, according to the Agriculture Department.

How much garlic seed is needed per acre?

200 kg of healthy medium and large cloves an acre for ordinary varieties, and 800 kg an acre for NARC G-1.

Which garlic varieties does Punjab approve?

Two: Lehsan Gulabi and NARC G-1.

How deep should garlic cloves be planted?

Two to three centimetres deep, root end down and the pointed tip showing, four inches apart in rows eight to ten inches apart.

What fertiliser does garlic need?

Two bags of DAP and two bags of SOP an acre at land preparation, plus 20 to 25 tonnes of farmyard manure a month before if available.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

We read the Punjab Agriculture Department's farm advisory for 16 to 31 October 2026, listed on its crop advisory page, on 20 October 2026. It is a scanned Urdu document that we read page by page and translated ourselves. Fertiliser and garlic prices are Pakistan Bureau of Statistics averages for the week to 8 October 2026. The costs and the plot size are our arithmetic. We could not check the price of seed cloves for either variety.