Yield and Grade of Asparagus Harvested at Three Spear Heights

Abstract

Although reports have been published regarding the merits of field snapping vs. cutting asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) (Barrons, 1945; Carolus, 1949), the amount of trim loss obtained from various cutting techniques (Barrington and Clore, 1964), and the effect of extended cutting seasons on yield (Jones, 1932), I found no reports on the effect of cutting height on yield. The purpose of this project was to determine if marketable yield or grade is affected when spears are cut at various heights. A uniform plot of ‘Glenn Smith Mary Washington’ asparagus planted as transplants in 1987 was used for this study. The experiment was located at the Roza Unit, Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Presser, Wash. The soil is a Warden silt loam with a history of pasture or cover crop previous to being planted to asparagus. Soil fertility was maintained by adding 21 kg N/ha annually to meet estimated crop demands. Water was applied by an overhead sprinkler irrigation system as needed. Weeds and insect pests were controlled using standard cultural practices recommended by Thornton et al. (1982). The plots were 10 × 3 m and consisted of two