Comparison of the introduced cultivars of Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) yield in Lithuania

Abstract

The investigations of biomorphological characteristics of introduced cultivars of asparagus were carried out in the period from 2003 to 2012 by the Institute of Agricultural and food sciences of the Aleksandras Stulginskis university. The biological characteristics of the cultivars of asparagus ‘D’Argenteuil Primaticcio’, ‘Schwetzinger Meisterschub’, ‘Eposs’, ‘Schneekopf’, ‘Rambo’, ‘Gartner Saat’ (standard); ‘Ravel’, ‘Ramos’, ‘Ramada’, ‘Rally’, ‘Ranger’(male) and ‘Mary Washington’ (control) were investigated. Productivity and chemical composition were established and the indicators of shoot quality were evaluated. It was established that the size of yield is influenced by the characteristics of asparagus cultivars, ecological conditions (i.e. fluctuations of temperature and humidity during formation and growing of spears). According to the results of investigations, the most productive cultivars in the group of standard cultivars were ‘Schwetzinger Meisterschub’, ‘Eposs’ and ‘Rambo’, and in the group of male cultivars – ‘Ravel’, ‘Ramos’ and ‘Ranger’.