IMPROVEMENTS TO ARTICHOKE (CYNARA SCOLYMUS L.) PRODUCTION IN THE BAIX LLOBREGAT AREA

Abstract

Although artichokes are an important crop in the Baix L lobregat area, technological improvements have been poor in recent years. To help correct this situation, in autumn 2007 a clone breeding programme was launched, with 194,000 plants distributed in 17 fields of commercial exploitation. In autumn 2008, cuttings from the selected plants were planted in a single trial field and following a design with replicas. During two consecutive years both the architecture of the plants and yield were controlled. Results showed that environmental variation was more important than genetic variation. Consequently, the improvement of the artichoke cultivated in the Baix L lobregat should be tackled through culture management and cloning techniques. Nevertheless, a clone with very good yield, low number of shoots and high number of buds was selected. If these traits appear stable in the second cloning generation the result would be a variety with good production and reduced vegetative mass. What is more, the process failed to produce an artichoke plant that, whilst maintaining the blanca de Tudela morphology, developed a distinctive trait to distinguish it as being from the Baix L lobregat.

Keywords: Artichoke, breeding, correlations between traits, environmental effects, practical advice.