Application of Salt during Seven Years to an Asparagus Plantation Affected by Fusarium

摘要

Salt application to the soil in asparagus plantations is an old practice which has been recommended to improve the asparagus crops damaged by Fusarium. A trial was established on a 5-year-old 'UC 157' planting in a soil of volcanic origin at Chillán (36°32'S; 71°55'W) to evaluate the effect of salt application in a sector affected by Fusarium spp. The experimental design was randomized complete blocks with five replications. Four doses of sodium chloride: 0, 600, 1200, and 1800 kg ha~(-1) were applied during summer (January) for seven years (2002 to 2008). There was no effect of salt application on asparagus yield during the seven harvest seasons, not also on the number of plants and number of stalks per plant at the end of each growing season. The number of healthy plants diminished from year 2002 to 2004 in all treatments, being constant the following years. On the other hand, the number of fern stalks per plant has increased in all treatments with passing of the years. The stability of soil aggregates was also evaluated in three opportunities of the year 2007: before, 15 days, and 30 days after salt application. Although there was no effect of the treatments on this parameter, a decrease of the stability in the time was observed (P≤0.05), being more severe with the highest salt doses (1200 and 1800 kg ha~(-1)).