Re. Lill et al., ASPARAGUS - VARIATION AMONGST PLANTS IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO THE POSTHARVEST DISORDER, TIP BREAKDOWN, New Zealand journal of crop and horticultural science, 22(1), 1994, pp. 87-90
Tip breakdown is a serious postharvest disorder of asparagus (Asparagu
s officinalis) which can result in severe wastage and quality loss; We
report significant variation amongst plants in their susceptibility t
o this disorder. This variation may be genetic in origin, but the resu
lts presented are equivocal on this. Plants with low levels of tip bre
akdown had higher levels of soluble carbohydrate in spear tips than pl
ants susceptible to the disorder. Protein levels and postharvest accum
ulation of ammonia were not significantly different in plants with low
levels of tip breakdown compared to plants with high levels. The poss
ibilities for selecting resistant plants are discussed.