Question
My garlic (organic) appears to have penicillun rot. How can I stop the spread of the rot and save the rest of the crop? Please let me know before I lose the lot. Thanks. (M.R.)
Answer
We have used hot air and hot water treatments to kill fungi on tomatoes, melons and peppers.
I have not used such treatments for decay control in garlic, but we have used hot water treatments to retard sprout growth in garlic. This will give you an idea of the temperature-time regimes that the cloves can tolerate. So, not knowing more detail, I assume you have whole bulbs and the decay is at the base. A hot water treatment could be effective but then you would have to thoroughly dry the garlic.
Would you have the possibility of using a hot air treatment? If so much longer treatment times would be required. I hope this is helpful.
-Marita Cantwell