RESULTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASPARAGUS CULTIVAR TRIAL IN POLAND

A trial with eleven cultivars originating from different countries was established in the western part of Poland in the summer of 1987. Blanched spears were harvested in the years 1990 – 1993. The mean temperature in the harvest period in these years ranged from 11.3°C to 17.3°C.

The highest accumulated yield for the four years of harvest was obtained with Jersey Giant, Geynlim, Vulkan (Lucullus 234), Jupiter (Lucullus 310) and the lowest with U.C. 157, Larac, Tainan No.1, and Del Monte 361. In 1993 high yield was also obtained with the cultivar Franklim which has shown significant yield increases in successive years.

The strongest reaction to low temperatures during the harvest period, as expressed by reduced yield, was shown by the cultivars U.C. 157, Larac and Largo 17-3. In contrast, the highest yielding cultivars showed no such temperature-dependent reaction.
The differences between yields of the lowest and highest yielding cultivars was ca. 250% in average years and ca. 450% in the second year of harvest when the lowest mean temperature occurred.

The best quality white spears were produced by Jersey Giant, Geynlin and Vulkan (Lucullus 234) and of the lowest quality with cultivars U.C. 157, Del Monte 361, Franklim and Tainan No.1.

The highest yielding cultivars also showed the highest level of tolerance to Botrytis.

VIII International Asparagus Symposium

M. Knaflewski

asparagus, cultivar, yield, quality, tolerance to diseases

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1996.415.56