ASPARAGUS - VARIATION AMONGST PLANTS IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO THE POSTHARVEST DISORDER, TIP BREAKDOWN

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.