The cloves were planted in the field at a depth of 5 cm. The plants were spaced 5 cm apart, and the rows were spaced 20 cm apart. Planting was performed under a plastic tunnel on 5 August,25 August and 15 September 2012; these dates corresponded to the plant age treatments. The plot area was a 1.5-m-wide, 3.5-m-long bed with six planting rows. Planting was performed in one plot on each planting date.