Evaluation of the performance of different cultivars in offseason production.

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

Valenzano, Bari (Italia)

Congreso; IV Internacional Congress on Artichoke; 2000

The Rosario artichoke area is one of the most important of the country with up to 90%of the fields planted with cv. Francés. Production is concentrated between June and October with a traditional gibberellic acid (GA3) spraying between March and April. The highest local market prices are obtained from March to August. In order to anticipate the production and obtain increased benefits from higher prices, anticipated exogenous GA3 application is proposed. In this way cold requirements could be substituted earlier triggering flowering process. On January 30th 1998 two GA3 concentrations (150 and 300 ppm) were applied to nine cultivars belonging lo different groups of precocity. Three repetitions were conducted of 10 plants plots. When the spraying were done plants had five to six expanded leaves. The following traits were evaluated: percentage of plants with an early production, total yield, number of heads per plant, weight, height, width and height/width ratio of the primary head, days to first harvest and head mean weight per plant. Due to non-normal distribution the first trait was analyzed along a X2 test. The rest were studied along an ANOVA. Early harvests were obtained as early as March, depending on the concentration and cultivar. On Violet of Provenza and Blanco de San Juan the highest dose produced 60 and 72 % increase of productive plants respect to the checks not treated respectively. With Frances March production was obtained only with the GA3 application, 5% and 62.5% of productive plants with the 150 and 300 ppm treatment respectively. In Blanc Hyerois (intermediate group of earliness) productive plants (11 %) were obtained with the highest dose. No cultivar of the late group of earliness were induced to an early flowering with the concentrations used. Even when the summer-autumnal total yield obtained in the earliest group with the application of AG3 is lower than the normal spring yield, the higher market prices would render a superior profit in comparison with the traditional production.