ARTICHOKE SITUATION IN ARGENTINA

First plantations began in the XIX century with the arrivals of Italian immigrants who settled in fertile areas of Argentina.
Buenos Aires and Santa Fe provinces with a temperate climate, a free freezing period from October to April and an average year rainfall of 1000 mm became the most important production areas.
Total artichoke fields comprise around 2000 ha.
Traditional cultivation is in a semi-intensive way with vegetative propagation by suckers means.
Sucker removal is in autumn and the normal planting grid of 1.4 m between rows and 0.8 within the row yields a density of 9200 plants/ha.
Average yields of 8500 kg/ha originates mean income of 6375 U$S /ha.
The production period range from May to November, with a concentration between September and October.
Applications of gibberelic acid (GA₃) are a common practice to achieve precocity.
Frances with a 90% of the fields is the most extended cultivar.
Others in use are Ñato, Italiano and Blanco.
To overcome this situation new adapted clones should be searched.
Phytosanitary problems are of importance, with a high incidence of soil borne pathogens, that notably reduce plant stands and to three year the lifetime of production fields.
The lack of adapted materials and extensive experimentation have been hindered the spread of seed propagated cultivars.

IV International Congress on Artichoke

S.M. García, I.T. Firpo, E.L. Cointry, F.S. López Anido, V.P. Cravero

Cynara cardunculus var scolymus, cultivars, production zones, agronomic practices

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.681.22