Tiprot, a postharvest disorder of asparagus, occurred at high frequenc
y (99%) in spears grown at 20 degrees C in controlled temperature cond
itions, but at low frequency (3%) in spears grown at 13 degrees C. Dur
ing spear growth, if temperatures of spears and crowns were controlled
separately at 13 and 20 degrees C or at 20 and 13 degrees C, respecti
vely, incidence of tiprot was similar at 56-62%. The occurrence of tip
rot was negatively correlated with sucrose content of the spear tip, a
nd positively correlated with spear tip respiration rate and spear hei
ght growth rate. Sucrose content of the spear tip at harvest gives the
most practical measure of predisposition to tiprot during storage but
may not be the primary cause of the disorder.