DEVELOPMENT OF ASPARAGUS CROWNS WITH INCREASING RATES OF LIMING

Abstract

The effects of liming on growth and development of asparagus crowns were studied in an Andisol with an original pH of 5.0. Containers were filled with 15 kg of soil having : no fertilizers, a basic NPK fertilization or the basic fertilization and increasing rates of limestone (1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 ton/ha), and seeded with asparagus cv. Atlas. After 198 days, at the beginning of senescence, plants were digged and different growth and development parameters were measured; at the same time, soil samples were analyzed. Length and number of roots and shoots, number of buds per crown, length and width of the rhizome, fresh weight of roots and shoots and the plant's total fresh weight increased almost linearly with increasing rates of liming; soils liad almost corresponding increases in Ca, Na, Mg and total interchangable bases and a decrease of Al, closely related to limestone levels. The application of a minimum of 4 ton/ha of lime is recommended to obtain asparagus crowns of optimal size or weight (± 50 g).