EVALUATION OF GREEN ASPARAGUS VARIETIES IN THE BÍO-BÍO REGION, CHILE Evaluación de variedades de espárrago verde en la Región del Bío-Bío, Chile

A trial was established using three month old asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) plants in a volcanic soil at Chillán (36°32’ S; 71°55’ W). Experimental design was randomized complete blocks with four replicates. Plots had four 6 m long rows of plants. Distance between rows was 1.5 m and in-row 0.2 m. The evaluated cultivars were: ‘Atlas’, ‘Grande’ and ‘Apollo’ from Asparagus Seeds and Transplants (California), ‘Jersey Giant’, ‘Jersey Gem’, ‘Jersey General’, ‘Jersey King’, ‘Jersey Knight’ and ‘Jersey Supreme’ from Jersey Asparagus Farms (New Jersey), and the controls were ‘UC-157’ F 1 and F 2 . Spears were trimmed 18 cm long after harvest. The highest cumulative marketable yield was obtained by ‘Jersey Supreme’ (43 Mg ha in five years), and the lowest one by ‘Apollo’ (17.8 Mg ha). Marketable yield of both control ‘UC-157’ F 1 (24.9 Mg ha) and F 2 (24.3 Mg ha) was similar (P ≤ 0.05) to the other Jersey cultivars, but higher than ‘Apollo’. The main disadvantage of ‘Jersey Supreme’ is the purple coloration of its bud scales, and a purple cast to the butt of the spear, therefore discarded for the fresh market, but suitable for freezing. Another disadvantage is that spears tend to open to a smaller height than ‘UC-157’, and 10% more of its production is destined to internal market (País category).