LI E> RAR.Y
OF THE.
UNIVERSITY
Of ILLINOIS
6307
I6b
tio. 44-5-4-57
NOTICE: Return or renew all Library Materials! The Minimum Fee for
each Lost Book Is $50.00.
The person charging this material is responsible for
its return to the library from which it was withdrawn
on or before the Latest Date stamped below.
Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for discipli-
nary action and may result in dismissal from the University.
To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
2
ft
S05
L161 O-1096
Yields of Asparagus
As Affected by Severe
Cutting of Young
Plantation
By J. W. LLOYD and
J. P. McCoLLUM
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
Bulletin 448
CONTENTS
PAGE
PLAN OF THE EXPERIMENT 160
FIRST-YEAR CUTTING REDUCED YIELDS 162
LIGHT CUTTING SECOND YEAR APPARENTLY
BENEFICIAL 163
DIFFERENCES IN YIELDS OF MARKETABLE
SHOOTS 165
SEVERE CUTTING REDUCED SIZE OF SHOOTS 167
TOTAL YIELDS DURING LIFE OF PLANTATION 169
CONCLUSIONS . . .172
Urbana, Illinois October, 1938
Publications in the Bulletin series report the results of investigations
made by or sponsored by the Experiment Station
Yields of Asparagus as Affected by
Severe Cutting of Young Plantation
By J. W. LLOYD and J. P. McCoLLUM 1
ASPARAGUS thrives in practically all parts of Illinois, im-
Z^\ portant producing counties being scattered thruout the state.
-*- " The counties having the highest asparagus acreage in 1929,
the last year for which statistics by counties are available, were Union,
Cook, Madison, Pulaski, and Jackson, in the order given (Table 1).
Total acreage for the state that year was reported to be 4,664 acres.
Since 1929 the acreage harvested has not changed materially, 2 tho
within the last two years quite extensive new plantings have been
made primarily for canning. Until the last few years most Illinois
growers were chiefly interested in producing this crop for the fresh-
vegetable market rather than for canning.
Asparagus is a slow-developing crop. A plantation requires at least
eight or ten years to reach full production. In the absence of specific
experimental information on the effects of cutting a young asparagus
plantation many growers, eager of course to begin marketing as soon
as possible, start cutting the first year after the roots are planted.
Other growers, convinced that the early cutting is harmful to the later
development of the plants, wait until the second or even the third
year. Late cutting of asparagus any season, even after the plants are
mature, shortens the growing period during which plants store up
food supplies in their roots for the production of the next year's crop,
and it is only to be expected that severe cutting of the plants while
they are young would be especially harmful. To clear up this question
experiments were started in the spring of 1926 at the Cook county
experiment station, where experiments with truck crops are conducted
by the University of Illinois. A planting of Mary Washington variety
was made. Results of the experiment during the first seven years,
previously reported in Illinois Bulletin 401, 3 showed a close relation
between the severity of cutting and the total amount of asparagus
M. W. LLOYD, Chief in Olericulture, and J. P. McCoLLUM, Assistant Chief
in Olericulture.
'According to correspondence with A. J. Surratt, State Statistician, Spring-
field, Illinois, March 19, 1938.
"Lewis, E. P. Asparagus Yields as Affected by Severity of Cutting. 111.
Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 401. 1934. This bulletin is now out of print and is super-
seded by the present publication.
159
160
BULLETIN No. 448
[October,
harvested during the seven years, the most severe cutting being asso-
ciated with the lowest yields and the smallest average size of shoots.
The present report continues the study and deals particularly with
the performance of this plantation during the period from 1931 to
1937, when all plots were cut for eight weeks each season. The planta-
tion was five years old at the beginning of this seven-year period. The
TABLE 1. ACREAGE OF ASPARAGUS IN ILLINOIS, FIFTEEN COUNTIES AND
STATE AS A WHOLE, 1929 a
County
Number of
acres
County
Number of
acres
Union
1 Oil
Ogle
98
Cook
755
Lee
86
516
81
Pulaski
492
Peoria
73
397
Kendall
42
LaSalle
215
St. Clair
35
175
Kankakee
128
Other counties
460
Will
100
Total '.
4 664
U. S. Census, 1929.
data presented show how various degrees of severity in cutting during
the first four years of the plantation (1927-1930) affected the yield
and market quality of the asparagus produced after the plantation was
five years old.
PLAN OF THE EXPERIMENT
Roots grown from seed sown in 1925 were used for planting in
the spring of 1926. There were 18 plots, each consisting of a single
row 375 feet long. The rows were 4 feet apart, and the plants were
spaced at intervals of 2i/2 feet in the row. Thus each plot consisted
of % 9 acre, planted with 150 crowns.
The area used for this experiment included the following soil
types: Saybrook Silt Loam, Lisbon Silt Loam, Lisbon Clay Loam and
Silty Clay Loam. The land had been tile-drained and was in a good
state of cultivation at the time the experiment was started. All plots
were treated alike as to cultivation and fertilizing. At the end of the
cutting season, each year after the first year, a 4-8-4 fertilizer was
applied to all plots at the rate of 500 pounds per acre.
The only difference in treatment of plots was in severity of cutting
during the first four years after the plantation was set. During this
period six different degrees of cutting were made in triplicate, as indi-
1938]
EFFECTS OF CUTTING YOUNG ASPARAGUS
161
cated in Table 2. Plots were cut for various lengths of time beginning
the first, second, and third years after planting. Beginning in 1931,
the fifth year after planting, all plots were cut for eight weeks each
year.
Harvesting was done at intervals of one to two days, depending
upon the temperature and hence the rapidity of growth of the shoots.
The product of each plot was arbitrarily graded into three sizes of
shoots, designated as No. 1, No. 2, and culls or "strings." No. 1
TABLE 2. CUTTING SCHEDULES ON 18 PLOTS DURING FIRST FOUR YEARS OF
ASPARAGUS PLANTATION
(Roots planted in spring of 1926)
Treatments*
Plotsb
Number of weeks of cutting
1927
1928
1929
1930
1 Cutting begun 3d year, full cutting 5th year
1.7,13
4, 10, 16
2.8,14
5,11.17
3, 9, 15
6, 12, 18
2
4
6
2
4
4
6
8
4
4
6
8
8
8
6
8
8
8
8
8
4 Light cutting 2d year, full cutting 4th year
2 Medium cutting 2d year, full cutting 4th year
5 Light cutting 1st year, full cutting 3d year
3 Medium cutting 1st year, full cutting 3d year
6 Heavy cutting 1st year, full cutting 2d year
In all subsequent tables the data given for Treatments 1 to 6 are averages of the three replications
indicated here.
b Each plot was H acre in size.
shoots w r ere at least y^ inch in diameter; No. 2 were 1/4 to i/i inch, 1
and the culls were under y\. inch. The diameter was measured at or
near the butt, using the greatest thickness of the shoot in cases where
the shoots were not exactly circular in cross-section. The weights
recorded were the weights of the shoots as cut in the field without
trimming.
The various bases for comparing the results of the different treat-
ments were the following: total number of shoots; total weight of
shoots; number and weight of marketable shoots; average weight per
shoot; and percentage of shoots that were No. 1, No. 2, and culls.
Yields, either in number or in weight of shoots, are based on three
replications of each treatment on plots ^9 acre in size.
sizes and grade designations are not identical with the present offi-
cial grade specifications for Illinois asparagus, but have been kept uniform
thruout the experiment, even tho the official grade specifications have been
changed from time to time.
162
BULLETIN No. 448 [October,
FIRST-YEAR CUTTING REDUCED YIELDS
All plots that were cut the first year (Treatments 5, 3, and 6)
produced smaller numbers of shoots and lower total weights of
asparagus each of the seven years after full cutting of all plots began,
than the plots which were not cut at all until the third year (Treat-
ment 1). Furthermore, the plots that were cut the longest time the
TABLE 3. TOTAL NUMBER OF ASPARAGUS SHOOTS, ALL SIZES, 1931-1937
(Averages of three replications of each cutting treatment, ^9 acre)
Treatment
No.
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
Total
1 . .
1 508
2 172
2 290
3 198
2 616
3 516
3 477
18 777
4...
1 510
2 186
2 393
3 292
2 693
3 557
3 560
19 191
2
1 314
1 899
2 012
2 887
2 345
3 089
3 086
16 632
5...
1 371
1 936
2 035
2 787
2 348
3 054
3 084
16 615
3
1 146
1 642
I 764
2 421
1 985
2 634
2 640
14 232
6
1 027
1 424
1 626
2 330
1 998
2 586
2 679
13 670
TABLE 4. TOTAL WEIGHTS OF ASPARAGUS SHOOTS, ALL SIZES, 1931-1937
(Averages of three replications of each cutting treatment, %g acre)
Treatment
No.
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
Total
1
Ibs.
97 3
Ibs.
158 5
/6s.
151 5
Ibs.
229 2
Ibs.
210
Ibs.
220 6
Ibs.
215 8
Ibs.
1 282 9
4
98 8
170 5
169 4
249 3
228
231 3
214 8
1 362 1
2
80.5
135 8
134 3
212 8
189 7
195 5
186 5
1 135 1
5...
73.9
132 3
133 1
211 2
199
201 6
202 3
1 153 4
3
61.6
108.0
110 8
175 2
160 7
163 9
155 5
935 7
6
52.3
92 7
101
164 5
156 8
162 5
170 8
900 6
first year (Treatments 3 and 6) 1 produced less than the plots that
were cut for a shorter period the first year (Treatment 5). 2 During
the seven years after full cutting began, the plots not cut at all until the
third year yielded 129.5 pounds more asparagus per plot than the plots
cut 2 weeks the first year; 347.2 pounds more than the plots cut 4
weeks the first year; and 382.3 pounds more than the plots cut 6
weeks the first year (Table 4). According to statistical analysis 3 of
of 249 and 355 shoots harvested from plots receiving Treatments 3
and 6 respectively.
2 Total of 91 shoots cut from 150 crowns.
'Love, H. H. A modification of Student's table for use in interpreting
experimental results. Jour. Amer. Soc. Agron. 16, 68-73, 1924.
1938]
EFFECTS OF CUTTING YOUNG ASPARAGUS
163
the data, all these differences were highly significant, the odds being
from 4999:1 to > 9999:1 that the differences were not due to chance.
Thus cutting for 2 weeks the first year proved to be much less
harmful than cutting for longer periods; but cutting for 4 weeks was
practically as harmful as cutting for 6 weeks. Both in number and
in weight of shoots harvested there was very little difference between
the plots cut 4 weeks the first year and those cut 6 weeks (Tables 3
and 4, and Fig. 1).
3000
2000
I
TOTAL ASPARAGUS SHOOTS:
EFFECT OF FIRST-YEAR CUTTING
TREATMENTS
1 - NOT CUT TILL 3D YR.
5 - CUT 2 WKS. 1ST YR.
3- CUT 4 WKS. 1ST YR.
6 - CUT 6 WKS 1ST YR.
1931
1933 1934 1935
FIFTH TO ELEVENTH YEARS
1936
FIG. 1. EFFECT OF FIRST- YEAR CUTTING OF ASPARAGUS ON NUMBER
OF SHOOTS DEVELOPED IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS
After the plantation was five years old, the effects of differences in early
cutting were clearly evident each year. All plots that had been cut the first year
after planting yielded consistently less than the plots not cut until the third
year. The pronounced drop in the 1935 yields was caused by the severe drouth
during the summer of 1934.
LIGHT CUTTING SECOND YEAR APPARENTLY BENEFICIAL
Cutting for a period of 2 weeks during the second year after
planting appeared to be beneficial. The total yield, both in number
and in weight of shoots, from plots which were cut in this manner
(Treatment 4) was consistently greater than from plots not cut at
164
BULLETIN No. 448
[October,
all until the third season (Treatment 1, Fig. 2). During the seven
years after full cutting of all plots began, a total of 79.2 pounds more
asparagus per plot was cut from the plots cut lightly the second year
than from the plots not cut until the third year (Table 4). Altho this
difference was small, the odds were 191 : 1 that it was significant. The
same relationship existed between numbers of shoots produced, 414
more per plot being cut from the plots that were cut lightly the second
year than from the plots not cut until the third year (Table 3).
4000
2 2000
TOTAL ASPARAGUS SHOOTS:
EFFECT OF SECOND -YEAR CUTTING
TREATMENTS
1 - NOT CUT TILL 3D YR.
4 - CUT 2 WKS. 2D YR.,
NOT CUT 1ST YR.
2 - CUT 4 WKS. 20 YR.,
NOT CUT 1ST YR.
1931
1933 1934 1935
FIFTH TO ELEVENTH YEARS
FIG. 2. EFFECT OF SECOND-YEAR CUTTING OF ASPARAGUS ON NUMBER
OF SHOOTS DEVELOPED IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS
Cutting for 2 weeks the second year of the plantation did not prove harm-
ful to subsequent yields, even appeared to have a beneficial effect. But cutting
for 4 weeks resulted in definitely lower yields than were obtained from plots
cut a shorter time or not cut at all until the third year.
On the other hand, cutting for 4 weeks the second season (Treat-
ment 2) resulted in definitely lower yields than those obtained from
plots not cut until the third year. During the seven years after full
cutting began, the plots not cut until the third year yielded 147.8
pounds more asparagus per plot than those cut 4 weeks the second
year (Table 4). The odds were > 9999:1 that this difference twas
significant.
1938] EFFECTS OF CUTTING YOUNG ASPARAGUS 165
DIFFERENCES IN YIELDS OF MARKETABLE SHOOTS
Since the yield of marketable shoots 1 is more important than the
total yield of all shoots, the different plots are compared on that basis
also. In general the relationships between the plots when compared on
this basis were similar to those when they were compared on the basis
of total number of shoots cut, including culls.
TABLE 5. YIELDS OF MARKETABLE ASPARAGUS: TOTAL NUMBER OF GRADE No. 1
AND GRADE No. 2 SHOOTS, 1931-1937
(Averages of three replications of each cutting treatment, ^9 acre)
Treatment
No.
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
Total
1
1 252
2 010
1 867
2 660
2 356
3 056
2 895
16 096
4...
1 271
2 073
2 051
2 864
2 455
3 144
2 962
16 820
2
1 073
1 772
1 659
2 450
2 099
2 678
2 566
14 297
5...
1 058
1 771
1 655
2 401
2 136
2 686
2 651
14 358
3
868
1 489
1 405
2 037
1 754
2 276
2 172
12 001
6
772
1 333
1 331
2 015
1 813
2 287
2 309
11 860
Plots Cut Most Severely While Young Lagged Farthest Behind.
The yields from the plots cut for 4 and 6 weeks respectively the first
year (Treatments 3 and 6) were distinctly inferior each year to those
from plots cut for only 2 weeks the first year (Treatment 5). Even
the latter plots, however, showed the unfavorable effect of first-year
cutting, for they yielded distinctly less each of the seven years than
plots which were not cut at all until the third year after setting (Treat-
ment 1, Fig. 3). These differences were evident whether the compari-
sons were on the basis of number or of weight of marketable shoots
(Tables 5 and 6). The total yield of marketable asparagus from the
plots cut 6 weeks the first year was 246.3 pounds per plot less than
that from the plots cut 2 weeks the first year, and 367.2 pounds less
than that from the plots not cut until the third year.
Favorable Effects From Light Second-Year Cutting. A greater
number and greater total weight of marketable shoots were cut from
plots cut 2 weeks the second year (Treatment 4) than from plots not
cut at all until the third year (Fig. 4). While the differences were not
very great any year and the yields by weight were practically identical
one year of the seven, there was a difference for the seven-year period
of 83.9 pounds per plot in favor of the plots cut lightly the second
year (Table 6). That this difference was significant is shown by a
'All shoots more than 14 inch in diameter.
166
BULLETIN No. 448
[October,
TABLE 6. YIELDS OF MARKETABLE ASPARAGUS: TOTAL WEIGHT OF GRADE No. 1
AND GRADE No. 2 SHOOTS, 1931-1937
(Averages of three replications of each cutting treatment, J>29 acre)
Treatment
No.
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
Total
1
Ibs.
92.6
Ibs.
156.9
Ibs.
144.1
Ibs.
219.0
Ibs.
204.6
Ibs.
213.1
Ibs.
203.7
Ibs.
1 234.0
4
94.4
169.2
163.4
240.7
223.0
224.5
202.7
1 317.9
2
76.2
134.5
128.1
204.2
184.7
189.6
176.6
1 093.9
5...
68.3
130.6
126.4
203.4
194.7
196.2
193.5
1 113.1
3
56.5
106.4
104.5
167.5
156.3
158.4
146.8
896.4
6
47.6
91.8
95.8
157.7
153.2
157.2
163.5
866.8
statistical analysis of the data, indicating odds of 191:1. It is probable
that light cutting the second year stimulated a branching of the crowns
which was favorable to greater production.
3000
2000
MARKETABLE ASPARAGUS YIELDS:
EFFECT OF FIRST-YEAR CUTTING
TREATMENTS
1 - NOT CUT TILL 3D YR.
5 - CUT 2 WKS. 1ST YR.
3 - CUT 4 WKS. 1ST YR.
6 - CUT 6 WKS. 1ST YR.
1933 1934 1935
FIFTH TO ELEVENTH YEARS
1937
FIG. 3. EFFECT OF FIRST- YEAR CUTTING OF ASPARAGUS ON NUMBER OF
MARKETABLE SHOOTS DEVELOPED IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS
Considerably smaller numbers of marketable shoots were produced by the
plots which were cut for 4 to 6 weeks during the first year, than were produced
by the plots not cut at all until the third year. Cutting for 2 weeks the first
year also reduced the yields, but not so much as the heavier cutting.
1938]
EFFECTS OF CUTTING YOUNG ASPARAGUS
167
While light second-year cutting resulted in some improvement in
yields, cutting for 4 weeks during the second season (Treatment 2)
resulted in much lower yields of marketable shoots each of the seven
years than were obtained either from plots which were lightly cut
(Treatment 4) or from plots which were not cut until the third year
(Treatment 1). Total yields for the seven-year period from plots cut
4 weeks the second year were 224 pounds per plot less than from the
,3000
2000
MARKETABLE ASPARAGUS YIELDS:
EFFECT OF SECOND -YEAR CUTTING
TREATMENTS
1 - NOT CUT TILL 3D YR
4 - CUT 2 WKS. 20 YR..
NOT CUT 1ST YR.
2 - CUT 4 WKS. 20 YR .
NOT CUT 1ST YR.
1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937
FIFTH TO ELEVENTH YEARS
FIG. 4. EFFECT OF SECOND- YEAR CUTTING OF ASPARAGUS ON NUMBER OF
MARKETABLE SHOOTS DEVELOPED IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS
More marketable shoots were produced each year by the plots cut for 2
weeks the second year after planting than by the plots not cut until the third
year. Cutting for 4 weeks the second year proved detrimental to later yields.
plots cut only 2 weeks, and 140.1 pound less than those from the plots
not cut until the third year (Table 6). Again the differences were
significant, the odds being > 9999:1 in each case.
SEVERE CUTTING REDUCED SIZE OF SHOOTS
The average weight of the individual shoots from each plot was
calculated by dividing the total weight of shoots produced on that
plot each year by the total number of shoots produced that year. The
weights, expressed in decimal fractions of a pound, are shown in
168
BULLETIN No. 448
[October,
TABLE 7. AVERAGE WEIGHT OF INDIVIDUAL ASPARAGUS SHOOTS PRODUCED ON
PLOTS RECEIVING DIFFERENT CUTTING TREATMENTS, 1931-1937
(Averages of three replications of each cutting treatment, %g acre)
Treatment
No.
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
Seven-
year
average
1
Ibs.
.064
Ibs.
.073
Ibs.
.066
Ibs.
.072
Ibs.
.080
Ibs.
.064
Ibs.
.062
Ibs.
.069
4
.065
.078
.071
.075
.085
.065
.060
.071
2
.061
.071
.067
.074
.081
.063
.060
.068
5...
.054
.069
.065
.076
.085
.066
.066
.069
3
.053
.066
.063
.072
.084
.062
.063
.066
6
.051
.065
.062
.071
.078
.063
.067
.065
Table 7. As a seven-year average, the largest shoots were produced on
plots which were cut lightly the second year (Treatment 4). The
shoots averaging smallest were from the plots cut most severely
during the early life of the plantation. There was a tendency for the
shoots from plots which were cut lightly the first year (Treatment 5)
to improve in relative size during the last four years.
The weights of the No. 1 shoots and of the No. 2 shoots from each
plot each year are given in Table 8. The total yields, on the weight
basis, of No. 1's, No. 2's, and culls for the entire seven-year period
are shown in Fig. 5.
TABLE 8. WEIGHT OF GRADE No. 1 AND OF GRADE No. 2 ASPARAGUS FROM
DIFFERENTLY TREATED PLOTS, 1931-1937
(Averages of three replications of each cutting treatment, K'9 acre)
Treatment
No.
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
Total
Grade No. 1
1
Ibs.
67.1
68.6
54.2
45.6
37.1
29.2
Ibs.
118.8
131.4
101.2
95.8
75.3
63.7
Ibs.
96.6
114.0
86.2
84.6
69.0
59.5
Ibs.
136.7
152.4
129.3
130.1
105.3
95.0
Ibs.
132.8
151.3
122.8
134.1
107.2
97.4
Ibs.
154.4
167.4
145.2
150.7
115.8
117.4
Ibs.
151.4
154.3
137.0
154.3
111.3
129.8
Ibs.
857.8
939.4
775.9
795.2
621.0
592.0
4...
2
5...
3
6
Grade No. 2
1
25.5
38.1
47.5
82.3
71.9
58.7
52.3
376.3
4...
25.8
37.8
49.4
88.3
71.7
57.2
48.3
378.5
2
22.0
33.3
41.9
74.8
61.9
44.4
39.6
317.9
5...
22.7
34.8
41.8
73.3
60.6
45.5
39.2
287.9
3
19.4
31.1
35.5
62.1
49.1
42.7
35.5
275.4
6
18.4
28.1
36.3
62.7
55.8
39.8
33.7
274.8
1938]
EFFECTS OF CUTTING YOUNG ASPARAGUS
169
The percentages of No. 1 shoots from each plot each year are
given in Table 9, on the bases of both number and weight. From both
standpoints, the plots cut lightly the second year (Treatment 4) were
superior to all others during each of the early years of the seven-year
period and also as an average for the entire seven years. During the
latter part of the seven-year period, however, there was marked
1000
GRADE NO. 1
TOTAL YIELDS -7 YEARS
GRADE
NO.
H GRADE NO. 1
GRADE NO 2
2 [>;.;] CULLS
1
i
1
CULLS
11
!
1
Ws wj
m p
1 1
fi n FI PI F?I n
142536 142536 1 4 2 S 3 9
TREATMENTS
FIG. 5. TOTAL YIELDS OF DIFFERENT GRADES OF ASPARAGUS DURING SEVEN-YEAR
PERIOD 1931-1937, AFTER DIFFERENT CUTTING TREATMENTS
Superior to all other cutting treatments, especially in the production of
Grade 1 asparagus, was Treatment 4, which included cutting the plantation for
2 weeks during the second year after the roots were set and for 4 weeks the
third year.
improvement in the relative position of plots which were lightly cut
the first year (Treatment 5). Also during the last two years of the
test, there was some improvement in the relative position of plots
which were heavily cut the first year (Treatment 6).
TOTAL YIELDS DURING LIFE OF PLANTATION
In total yield of asparagus of all grades (No. 1, No. 2, and culls)
during the eleven-year period from the time the first cuttings were
made on the one-year-old plantation until the close of the experiment,
when the plantation was twelve years old, all plots that were cut at all
170
BULLETIN No. 44S
[October,
TABLE 9. PERCENTAGES OF GRADE No. 1 ASPARAGUS SHOOTS FROM DIFFERENTLY
TREATED PLOTS, 1931-1937
(Averages of three replications of each cutting treatment, ^9 acre)
Treatment
No.
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
Seven-
year
average
On basis of number
1
48.1
52.6
39.9
36.8
42.4
46.9
49.3
45.1
4
49.1
57.0
44.1
39.8
45.7
50.5
50.2
48.1
2
45.9
53.3
40.3
38.6
53.8
51.2
52.6
47.9
5...
39.7
49.7
40.0
39.6
47.0
52.2
55.7
46.3
3
37.8
46.6
38.2
37.9
44.3
48.1
49.5
43.2
6
34.4
47.1
36.4
36.9
42.5
50.2
55.3
43.2
On basis of weight
1
68.9
74.9
63.8
59.6
63.2
70.0
70.1
67.2
4
69.4
77.1
67.3
61.1
66.3
72.4
71.8
69.3
2
67.3
74.5
64.2
60.8
64.7
74.2
73.4
68.4
5
61.7
72.4
* 63.6
61.6
67.4
74.7
76.3
68.2
3
60.3
69.7
62.3
60.1
66.7
70.6
71.6
65.9
6
55.8
68.7
58.9
57.7
62.1
72.2
76.0
64.5
the first year were distinctly inferior to the plots which were not cut
until the third year. Of the plots which were cut the first year, the
ones which were cut most lightly yielded substantially more during the
eleven-year period than those which were cut more heavily the first
year. Furthermore, plots which were given a light initial cutting the
second year (Treatment 4) gave a substantially greater total yield
for the eleven-year period than any of the other plots. These same
relations held whether the comparison was on the basis of number of
shoots or total weight of shoots (Table 10).
(For general conclusions see page 172)
1938]
EFFECTS OF CUTTING YOUNG ASPARAGUS
171
O 0^ t^r^
1
H
a -f oo o ^f f*^
i ^ isss
t>
oo oa
x oom tomoo
t
0>
* 25 5^
CS CS CS
a
\O t Ov ^f -* \O
o t^m voain
U
OH
m mo Ovom
cs cs es
5?
m
vo wm oomoo
O O t O t oo
a rt
es CNO) cs
csoo ovom
CM CS ****
j*
OO CS *" l^" -" O
es to oo esesm
gj
CM 00 t rf f*5
n to cs MCSCS
cs tscs es
S -
<5
^^ ^rf^C
m Tfto -ooo
in a 1
O
a So sss
Z SS S2S
JJ
52 W
^ j:
CS
x
ts o, ocs^.
o
a
m moo toot-
en &
O _
Ov
'o
s
00 O^vO^
a
oo OITJ OtO^J.
(/)
Ov
to -*m at-'-
2 2^2 cs2
W Ci>
00
IMO\ CSt-VO
-ooto
J
<
CSTC mvot-
' ""S 222
O
*T
^
. .
-t^-*
i
o
2
csto
eMint*-
CO
Z
1
S**
H
- T.'CS' m'