Articles
Growth and yield differences between the sex of 2-, 4-, and 8-year-old asparagus in low-humic andosol
Article number
1376_18
Pages
127 – 132
Language
English
Abstract
Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a dioecious perennial plant.
Male plants display higher yield than females, and all-male cultivars are more commonly produced, although female plants have a heavier spear weight.
However, few reports have examined how stock grade and cropping type affect growth and yield differences between the sexes of asparagus.
In this study, we compared the growth (1-, 3-, and 7-year-old plants) and yield (2-, 4-, and 8-year-old plants) of female and male plants of UC157 grown in a long-term harvest production system in an open field and semi-forcing culture.
The result of our growth measurement showed that the growth index in female plants was equivalent to or significantly higher than in males.
For the yield measurement, the spear weight and the thick spear (>15 g) ratio of female plants were equivalent to or significantly higher than those of males except for certain harvest seasons.
The yield was equivalent to or significantly higher than that of male plants except for 8-year-old plants.
In contrast, the spear number was equivalent to or higher in female plants than in males.
Our future work will focus on investigating yields from 9-year-old plants onward to evaluate the usefulness of female plant cultivation.
Male plants display higher yield than females, and all-male cultivars are more commonly produced, although female plants have a heavier spear weight.
However, few reports have examined how stock grade and cropping type affect growth and yield differences between the sexes of asparagus.
In this study, we compared the growth (1-, 3-, and 7-year-old plants) and yield (2-, 4-, and 8-year-old plants) of female and male plants of UC157 grown in a long-term harvest production system in an open field and semi-forcing culture.
The result of our growth measurement showed that the growth index in female plants was equivalent to or significantly higher than in males.
For the yield measurement, the spear weight and the thick spear (>15 g) ratio of female plants were equivalent to or significantly higher than those of males except for certain harvest seasons.
The yield was equivalent to or significantly higher than that of male plants except for 8-year-old plants.
In contrast, the spear number was equivalent to or higher in female plants than in males.
Our future work will focus on investigating yields from 9-year-old plants onward to evaluate the usefulness of female plant cultivation.
Publication
Authors
K. Okada, S. Imai, T. Taguchi, A. Kanno, S. Motoki
Keywords
Asparagus officinalis L., long-term harvest production system, open field culture, plastic house, sex, thick spear
Groups involved
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