Project Overview
Annual Reports
Commodities
- Vegetables: asparagus
Practices
- Crop Production: organic fertilizers
- Education and Training: demonstration, on-farm/ranch research
- Production Systems: organic agriculture
Summary:
Project objectives:
The demonstration of an extended, viable growing season for asparagus in the South would provide another crop option for southern agricultural producers. This option could be particularly beneficial to smaller-scale producers that direct market their crops locally over a period of several months. Asparagus is not typically grown commercially in the South because of hot weather conditions and a limited harvest season. This research tested five cultivars of asparagus for heat tolerance and established organic cultivation methods for asparagus in South Texas, and other warm areas of the South, that can provide near year-round production.
This project’s three research objectives were carried out simultaneously over the course of a 28-month data-collection period:
1. Develop an organic cultivation method that allows for year-round harvesting of asparagus in South Texas.
The steps necessary to accomplish this objective include:
a. Prune one replication of asparagus ferns below the soil surface to mimic die-back during dormancy and harvest emerging spears for a two-month period.
b. Prune the replication again 10 months after the first pruning.
c. Repeat steps a. and b. with the second replication of asparagus two months after the first replication was pruned. Continue with the third, fourth, and fifth replications, waiting two months before pruning each subsequent replication.
d. Collect yield data from each of the five cultivars of asparagus from each replication.
2. Test five cultivars of asparagus to determine which perform better in South Texas weather conditions.
3. Disseminate findings to local growers and growers throughout the South through outreach efforts.