New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts
Study of asparagus production in Western Samoa
W. T. BUSSELL1
M. J. BONIN2
School of Agriculture
University of the South Pacific
Private Bag
Apia, Western Samoa
1Present address: Department of Landscape & Plant Science,
UNITEC Institute of Technology, Private Bag 92 025, Auckland, New Zealand.
email: wbussell@unitec.ac.nz
2Present address: P. O. Box 3039, Apia, Western Samoa.
Abstract A tropical variant of the temperate asparagus
(Asparagus officinalis L.) production system, thought to have advantages
over the Taiwanese "mother fern" method in Western Samoa, was employed in this
study. Spears were cut for 7-24 days in the first two harvests and for 30 days
in later harvests. All harvesting periods were followed by a 4-month fern
growing period. Accumulated yields were significantly (P < 0.05)
higher from plants first harvested 11 months after transplanting than from
plants first harvested 7 or 9 months after transplanting. Shorter harvesting
periods early in the life of the crop did not improve accumulated yields. In
plants first harvested 11 months after transplanting accumulated total yields
to the end of the fourth harvest was over 5 t/ha. From the fifth harvest there
was a low yield of 0.3 t/ha followed by poor fern growth. The trial was
abandoned 1 month after the fifth harvest and plants still appeared free of
fungal diseases and insect attack then. Possible causes of reduced longevity
and ways of improving longevity in moist tropical conditions are discussed.
Keywords Asparagus officinalis L.; moist humid
tropics; harvest regime
H98057
Received 3 December 1998; accepted 10 February
1999
Short communication
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