Morpho-physiological characteristics and yield of early and mid-season globe artichoke
Conference Paper
Overview
Research
Identity
Additional Document Info
Other
View All
Overview
abstract
In Texas there is a need to screen and identify high quality and more productive globe artichoke cultivars. The objective of this study was to determine morphological, physiological, head quality and yield responses of early and mid-season globe artichoke cultivars. The standard 'Imperial Star' (IS, early season, Condor Seed Co.) and the new '12-179' (mid-season, Big Heart Seed Co.) cultivars were transplanted November 2014 at Uvalde in the Wintergarden region and Brownsville in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Plant measurements were conducted during the vegetative stage (90-130 days after planting, DAP) and reproductive stage (150-190 DAP). At the early stage, plant height of '12-179' was significantly higher (P=0.04 to 0.08) than IS in both sites. The cultivar '12-179' also had higher photosynthetic rates than IS at the Uvalde location. No significant differences were found between cultivars in other gas exchange measurements, plant width, chlorophyll content index (SPAD), and leaf area index (LAI). However, LAI of '12-179' was significantly higher than IS in Brownsville at the reproductive stage. Head and heart weights were similar for both cultivars, but head length was significantly longer (P=0.006) for '12-179' as compared to IS. Four harvests were performed during a 42-day period, with the major peak of production (48% of the total) on April 21, 2015. The main difference between cultivars was in total marketable yield, with '12-179' producing 9.8 t ha-1 higher marketable yields (23.9 t ha-1) than IS (14.1 t ha-1). Conversely, unmarketable yield (deformed, opened) of 12-179 was 3.5 t ha-1 compared with 5.7 t ha-1 for IS. Overall, the new cultivar '12- 179' demonstrated superior performance to 'Imperial Star', and therefore is recommended for adoption into commercial production practices in southwest Texas.
