Crooked Spears Crooked spears generally are the result of dirt clods in the field, hot dry wind in early spring injury due to winter frost disking, or heavy soils. Avoid all these problems to produce straight, marketable spears. It will increase vigor and decrease risk of infection by fusarium. Apply water, at least for the first 2 years, if possible. Female plants are less productive and have a shorter life because the plant's energy is allocated to seed production in the fall.
Male plants produce a larger number of spears, earlier in spring, but they often are thin.
Female plants produce fewer spears, but they are larger and are produced later in the season. The new, male hybrid varieties do not produce seeds. Plant asparagus in a field that did not have asparagus for the last eight years, and dip the crowns in recommended fungicide before planting. Keep the planting healthy by practicing good cultural methods. Bracts of the spears are partly spread as a result of high temperatures.