STUDY ON SOME CULTURAL PRACTICES ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF ARTICHOKE "SEEDS"

Study were conducted in south Italy to ascertain the effects of three plants density (1.3, 1.0 and 0.8 plants m^-2) and offshoots removal on yield and quality of seed. Three crops were planted by transplanting (in 2000, 2001, 2002); the 1^st planting date was grown for 4 years while the other ones were grown for 3 years. For the first planting, at 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th growing season, the plots, after the awakening, were split in two parts: in the 1^st were grown 2 offshoots per plant in the 2^nd one were raised all offshoots sprouted. The plots of 2^nd and 3^rd planting were divided in three parts: in the first one, all sprouted offshoots were raised, in the second and third, one or two offshoots per plant were grown, respectively. At harvest time central heads (CH) were separated by lateral heads (LH). Seed germination was assessed twenty months after harvest. Among the 10 crops grown during the experiments only in the last one seed yield of CH and LH were greatly influenced by plant density and the yield was higher compared to the other ones, probably due to favourable climatic condition during flowering and grain filling. When the plants were not thinned the number of CH plant^-1 was higher and the 1000 seed weight and number of LH plant^-1 decreased. Twenty months after harvest germination percentage was higher when plants were not thinned.