Aspara Pacific

The varieties from Peter Falloon's program include the world famous asparagus purples; Pacific Purple and Stewarts Purple.  These varieties are considered to be the highest yielding commercially available purple types.

They are characterised by very high sugar and very low fibre levels, as such their sweetness and tenderness are second to none.  A propensity to produce thicker spears leads the breeder to suggest a planting density of 40,000 crowns per hectare to ensure high yields of medium sized spears.  The varieties have a tolerance to Fusarium.

Is purple asparagus really sweeter than green?

A trial was carried out at Crop and Food Research, New Zealand to test the sugar levels of purple vs green asparagus.  The varieties used were Pacific Purple and Limbras 10.  Whether or not sweetness changed after spear harvest was also investigated.

The sweetest parts of the spear were the middle and the butt end.  The results for the middle section of the spears were as follows:

• Harvest         Purple 37% sweeter
  
• +12 hours     Purple 130% sweeter
  
• +24 hours     Purple 33% sweeter
  
• +72 hours     Purple 91% sweeter

The average result was that purple asparagus was 72% sweeter than green.

Super sweet white asparagus production using Pacific Purple

The tetraploid nature of Pacific Purple means that it produces inherently thick spears, a major advantage in white asparagus production.  In addition, the supreme tenderness and super sweet flavour mean that Pacific Purple could be revolutionary for the traditional white asparagus market.

An optimum planting density of approximately 25,000 crowns to the hectare is recommended for white production.  This is achieved by spacing plants 0.2m apart in single rows.  Inter-row spacing is 2.0m.  To maintain spear thickness the crowns should be planted approximately 20-25cm deep.

The New Zealand experience shows that excellent results have been achieved through the use of protected cropping.  There, they are using moveable tunnel houses covering three rows at a time.  At the end of the harvest the plastic is removed to allow the fern to grow as an outdoor crop.  In New Zealand very high light levels necessitate the use of black plastic, at least 30 microns thick.  The plastic is opaque, white on one side and black on the other.  At the beginning of the season the black side faces up and this is reversed as days get longer and temperatures increase.

For production of white asparagus under cover, a plant density of 64,000 plants/ha is used.  This is achieved by using a staggered double row, with plants spaced 20cm apart in each of the rows.  In addition, the double rows need to be 20-25cm apart, creating a bed type planting system.  Inter-row spacings are 1.25cm from row centre to row centre.  Crowns should again be planted 20-25cm deep to maintain spear thickness.

If there has been a criticism of white asparagus in the past then it has been about lack of flavour.  Pacific Purple grown for white is totally the opposite of this point of view.  The spears literally burst with flavour, and as such, are known as 'super sweet'.  It will certainly be worth keeping an eye on Hargreaves Plants and the New Zealand industry in the near future for even more developments.

Click here to download the Purple Asparagus Technical Brochure

Green asparagus from New Zealand

Green variety development is currently focusing on Phytophthora resistance, with an overall aim of producing cultivars that combine the persistence of the European varieties with the spear quality of those from the USA

Pacific 2000

Pacific 2000 is Dr Falloon's current leading green F1 hybrid and has been outyielding all of its competition in three major trials run by the New Zealand Asparagus Council.  In data analysed from seven international trial sites, Pacific 2000 is outperforming UC157 in six of the trials.  The average yield increase from all seven sites is 65%.  The countries included range from Peru, USA (California and Washington), Japan, New Zealand and Holland.

Hargreaves Plants' UK asparagus variety trials suggest that Pacific 2000 is leading the way for green types in terms of taste.  In total nine taste tests have been carried out and Pacific 2000 was ranked in the top two in eight of these.  In addition, Pacific 2000 was the preferred green variety when eaten raw.  Uncooked asparagus could be one of the next major steps forward in terms of further segmenting the retail market both in the UK and overseas.

Such is the superb eating quality of Pacific 2000 that it is now being supplied as a branded product through one of the UK's premium major multiples.

Click here for the Pacific 2000 Technical brochure

Pacific Challenger

Pacific Challenger is the first of the Phytophthora tolerant lines to be released from Aspara Pacific.  It has been rigorously tested on multiple trial sites prior to release.

The variety combines the spear quality of Pacific 2000 with improved yield and of course, Phytophthora tolerance.

Hargreaves Plants continues to evaluate a small number of new hybrids from the Aspara Pacific breeding program.  Please enquire for updates.