Globe artichoke - vegetable of delicacy

ARTICHOKES ARE perennial herbs, the best known of which is Cynara scolymus. It is cultivated for young flower heads (chokes) which are cooked and eaten as a delicacy. In some mediterranean countries, baby artichokes may be eaten whole either as an appetizer or fried. The young tender leaf-stalks can also be eaten when blanched.

It is a cool season crop can be grown successfully in the areas with a temperature range of 12oC to 18oC. If the temperature goes above 22oC it results in the production of tough buds and tendency to spread. The roots can be tolerate and survive freezing weather but the aerial portion of the plant is injured by near freezing temperature. A light frost may not destroy the edible quality of the bud but produced blister appearance, which will affect the marketability. Freezing temperature prior to harvest (-2o to 1.0oC) will kill the buds and above ground growths. This will result in delay in harvest from 6-8 weeks. heavy loams or light clays are ideal to growth artichoke. A pH range of 6.0-7.5 will be best suited.

The field is brought in to fine tilth. Beds or furrows are formed at the spacing of 2.4m. Before the formation of furrows 10-12 tonnes of FYM and 60-100 kg of N/ha are applied are incorporated into the soil. The plants are propagated vegetatively through young off-shoots or suckers which are removed from the older plants from November and stored in cool moist place to prevent drying till February.

Sometimes even the old crown in split into several pieces each with the stem. These are planted along the rows at a spacing of 1.8 m during February-March when they come out of dormancy and start putting- forth new growth. The plants are set a depth of 15-20 cm.

A complete soaking irrigation is given at the time of planting. For the settlement of new crop frequent irrigation is necessary at the early stages. Water is applied in furrows. It is a deep- rooted plant and in deep soils, the root system may extend to a depth of 180 cm.

Hoeing and weeding are done as and when required. Since the crop stands for 6-7 years in the field, after each harvest the leaves and stems are cut off several inches below the ground level. These levels and stems are allowed to decompose in the soil so as to increase the organic matter content. In some cases the tops are sold for silage to the livestock industry.

The larvae of artichoke plume moth feed on leaves and stems and mainly on the developing buds. To control this, Sevin or carbaryl is sprayed at the rate of 2g/lit. Botritis rot results in rotting of scales. The affected buds should be removed and copper fungicide can be sprayed. Curyl dwarf is a virus disease in which the affected plants are stunted shoots are spindly curled and sometimes yellowed. The affected plants should be removed and burnt.

The first harvest starts 6-7 months after planting the suckers. The harvest season starts from the September - October. A mature will produce 12 or more stems and 40 - 50 edible buds. The harvest continues throughout the winter season. The buds are selected for harvest on the basis of compactness, size and age. Buds, which are old and not compact, the fibrous and inedible. Each stem has several buds. The terminal one is the most desirable. When all the buds have been removed to allow for the formation of new stem. Each bud is cut along with the portion of the stem with a length of 2.0-2.5 cm. The buds can be stored at oC and 90-95 per cent RH for a period of 3-4 weeks.

V.M. Selvarajan, S. Natarajan & Sudha Mathews

Horticultural Research Station

Ooty-643003

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