Effect of Combination of Fertilizer on the Concentration of Some Elements in Biomass and Quantitative Yield of Asparagus officinalis Genotypes

Fertilizers play a vital role in providing essential nutrients to the plants, influencing their growth and ultimately affecting the crop production. To assess the effect of different fertilizer treatments on yield and agricultural characteristics of different varieties of asparagus current research in Safi Abad Dezful Agricultural Research Center during the 2021-2022 cropping season was done. An experiment was conducted as a split plot based on a completely Randomized Block Design. The main factor consisted of three cultivars of asparagus (Linda, Mike and Mary Washington). The sub-factor, on the other hand, involved five fertilizer levels (manure fertilizer, basic chemical fertilizers + manure fertilizer, basic chemical fertilizers + manure fertilizer + sulfur, Basic chemical fertilizers + manure fertilizer + calcium and basic chemical fertilizers + manure fertilizer + calcium + sulfur). The results indicated that both the cultivar and fertilizer treatment had a significant impact on dry yield of edible stems. Among different combinations tested, usage of manure fertilizer in combination with chemical fertilizers, sulfur, and calcium in the Mary Washington cultivar resulted in the highest dry yield of edible stems, with an increase of 665 kg.ha-1 compared to other treatments. The Linda cultivar demonstrated superiority over other cultivars in terms of iron content across all fertilizer treatments. In Linda cultivar, the concurrent application of manure fertilizer and chemical fertilizers resulted in the highest manganese content in the asparagus plant, reaching 1.29 ppm. For achieving the highest dry yield of edible stems recommended to use Linda cultivar and apply a combination of manure fertilizer along with chemical fertilizers, sulfur, and calcium. This particular combination proved to be most effective in enhancing both the yield and the nutritional content of the asparagus plant.