Suitability Of Sixteen Asparagus Cultivars For Growing In Polish Environmental Conditions

Abstract

Green spear yield of 16 asparagus cultivars originating from six countries was assessed from 2011 to 2013. There were considerable differences in total, marketable and early yields between the cultivars. The quality of harvested spears also varied remarkably. On average, the highest mean total and marketable yields from 3 years of investigation came from Dutch cultivars ‘Gijnlim’ and ‘Cumulus’ and German cv. ‘Mondeo’. The lowest yields were found in New Zealand cultivars ‘Pacific Challenger’ and ‘Pacific 2000’. The greatest mean marketable spear weight was recorded for ‘Cumulus’, whereas the smallest spear weight was obtained from ‘Pacific 2000’, ‘H666’ and ‘NJ 953’. Cultivars ‘Gijnlim’, ‘Cumulus’ and ‘Mondeo’ produced the highest early yields, while ‘Pacific 2000’ and ‘Pacific Challenger’ produced the lowest.

Keywords

• asparagus officinalis
• cultivar
• yield
• growth index