FIRST RESULTS OF THE "THIRD INTERNATIONAL ASPARAGUS CULTIVAR TRIAL" PLANTED IN HORST, THE NETHERLANDS

In 2003, a trial of 41 asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) cultivars of the "Third International Asparagus Cultivar Trial", was planted on sandy soil in Horst, the Netherlands. Two recently released cultivars, 'Herkolim' and 'Avalim' were also included. White asparagus was harvested in 2004 and 2005. The highest yielding cultivars were 'Gijnlim', 'Ravel', 'Herkolim' and 'Thielim' with 17.2, 14.2, 13.9 and 13.9 t/ha respectively. 'Herkolim', 'Backlim', 'Grolim' and 'Thielim' had the highest average spear weight (72, 60, 59 and 58 g respectively). 'Fileas' was the earliest producing cultivar, with 25 percent of its total production in the first two weeks of harvest, followed by 'Gijnlim' and 'Orane', both with 18 percent. Besides these characteristics, daily evaluation of open tips, hollow spears, "physiological rust", pink discoloration and spear diameter distribution are presented, as well as autumn fern evaluations of 2003 and 2004. These preliminary data indicate that the cultivars 'Avalim', 'Backlim', 'Grolim' and 'Herkolim' are most suited for the culture of white asparagus in the Netherlands.