ISHS Acta Horticulturae 664: IV International Symposium on Irrigation of Horticultural Crops
THE WATER NEED OF ASPARAGUS (ASPARAGUS OFFICINALIS L.) DETERMINED IN A LYSIMETER STATION |
| Authors: | P.-J. Paschold, B. Artelt, G. Hermann |
| Keywords: | environment, leaching, grade I spears, nutrition, Nmin residues, organic matter |
| Abstract:
Asparagus is the largest vegetable crop by area in Germany. About 18000 ha were grown in 2002, mostly with irrigation. Therefore, information is necessarily about the need of water of the asparagus plants, and about how to reduce the environmental pollution of the groundwater by nutrients. A trial was carried out in a weighting lysimeter station to determine the influence of different amounts of water on the development of asparagus plants. One year-old crowns of the Dutch cultivar Grolim were planted in April 1999 on a sandy soil in weighting lysimeters. Three irrigation treatments were tested: 1. Natural precipitation without irrigation, 2. Irrigation started if water content in the soil was reduced to 70 %, 3. Irrigation started if water content was reduced to 40 % of field capacity. The plant development was measured during one vegetation period: fern number and high and stem diameter, four times in summer and autumn. At the end of November, the trial was finished with the determination of the whole root biomass and the fern biomass, their dry mass and the content of N, P, K, Mg and Ca. Weight of all ferns and the number of ferns with stem diameter less than 10 mm increased significantly by water amounts between 180 and 360 mm. The root biomass increased significantly, too. The dry mass content and the content of the measured nutrients were not significantly influenced. | |
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