Effects of different agronomic practices on globe artichoke production.

GARCÍA, S. M.; COINTRY, E. L.; LÓPEZ ANIDO, F. S.; CRAVERO, V. P. Y FIRPO, I. T.

Valenzano, Bari (Italia)

Congreso; IV Internacional Congress on Artichoke.; 2000

Traditional artichoke agronomic practices as perennial include thinning suckers to one or two per plant. As this manual labor represents 15% of the variable cost a elimination of this practice would increase profitability. Conducting plants with all suckers would increase leaves mass and an additional income could be reached by selling leaves to the farmacological industry. The objetive of thee present works is to analyse what extent alternative agronomic practices could increase total profitability. Five clones: 'Ñato', 'Blanc Hyerois', 'Camus de Bretagne', 'Caribou' and 'Salanquet' were planted in 1997 in a randomized complete block of two replications of ten plants in the Experimental Field of the Agronomic Faculty of the Rosario National University, Argentina (33° 1’S; 60° 53'W). The plantation grid was 1,40 m between rows and 0,80 m within the row. In 1999 four treatments were applied as the result of the combination of thinning and not thinning of suckers each one with leaves cut and without leaves cut. The number of heads per plant, first artichoke weight, height/diameter ratio, days to first harvest, harvest period and total yield were analized along a two way ANOVA. Conducting plants with all suckers increased 65% the number of heads per plant, and as number of heads per plant is a yield component, total yield and thus income/ha also increased in a 54% (from US.$ 5.250 to 8.120/ha). Leaves cuts both in thinned and not thinned plants diminished head number per plant and total yield in a 34%, with a tendency to delay first harvest and shortern harvest period.