THE INFLUENCE OF THE HARVEST PERIOD ON MORPHOLOGICAL AND PRODUCTIVITY TRAITS AT ASPARAGUS

Rezumat

The asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a perennial vegetable species, cultivated worldwide under a variety of climatic conditions for its edible shoots. This study aimed to evaluate the morphological and productivity traits of two asparagus genotypes, grown for the production of green shoots, within the soil and climatic conditions of southwestern Romania.
Throughout the growing season, measurements were taken for each genotype regarding the average number of shoots, their length and diameter, their average weight, and the yield per hectare considering both a four-week and an extended six-week harvesting period. It was found that the total shoot yield was higher during the first harvesting period. The total average
yield, combined for both periods, ranged from 5.6 to 6.6 kg ha⁻¹, with the highest value observed for the 'Mary Washington' genotype. This genotype demonstrated good adaptability to the climatic conditions of southwestern Romania across both harvesting periods.