RESULTS OF THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL ASPARAGUS CULTIVAR TRIAL AT CHILLÁN, CHILE

The trial was established on 30 January 2007 using 12-week-old plants in a soil of volcanic origin at Chillán (36°32’S; 71°55’W). The planting date was not the most adequate, because we received the seeds very late in the season. Nevertheless, the plants grew vigorously the first season until temperature started to decrease (April 2007). The experimental design is randomized complete blocks with four replications. Plots have two rows of plants 7 m long. Planting distances were 1.5 m between rows and 0.25 m between plants. Planting depth was 25 cm. The evaluated cultivars are: ‘Pacific 2000’, ‘3 x Phy20’, ‘73 x 22’, ‘Fileas’, ‘Mondeo’, ‘DePaoli’, ‘UC 157’, ‘Atlas’, ‘Jersey Giant’, ‘J. Supreme’ A (from J.A. Farms) and B (from Rutgers University), ‘J. Knight’, ‘J. Deluxe’, ‘New Jersey 951’, ‘NJ 953’, ‘NJ 956’, ‘NJ 978’, ‘NJ 1025’, ‘NJ 1031’, ‘NJ 1119’, and ‘NJ 1149’. We have only 17 plants of ‘Jersey Deluxe’ which were included in the second block as a satellite plot. Plots were harvested daily during 38 days for the first time in 2008. Spears were cut at 18 cm long after harvest. Cultivars with highest marketable yield were ‘NJ 978’ (3134 kg/ha), ‘NJ 1031’ (3109 kg/ha), ‘NJ 956’ (2897 kg/ha), ‘NJ 953’ (2895 kg/ha), ‘NJ 951’ (2781 kg/ha), ‘J. Giant’ (2686 kg/ha), and ‘Mondeo’ (2646 kg/ha). The lowest marketable yield was given by ‘J. Supreme’ B (1600 kg/ha), ‘73 x 22’ (1605 kg/ha), ‘DePaoli’ (1658 kg/ha), ‘J. Supreme’ A (1752 kg/ha), ‘NJ 1119’ (1876 kg/ha) and ‘UC 157’ (1912 kg/ha). Number of spears per m² ranked from 10.3 (‘NJ 1119’) to 25 (‘NJ 978’). Spears infected by purple spot (Stemphylium vesicarium) at harvest ranked from 0% (‘NJ 1149’) to 17.2% (‘Mondeo’) of total yield. Plants affected by Phytophthora megasperma during summer ranked from 9.3% (‘3 x Phy20’) to 61.5% (‘NJ 953’).