UC-157 F2

UC 157 was bred by Frank Takatori and Frank Southers at the University of California, Riverside and released in 1978, and its vigour and productivity made it the standard hybrid for warm asparagus districts. What is sold as 'UC-157 F2' is not that hybrid but second-generation seed saved from it, which is why it is affordable enough to plant a long row from seed instead of buying crowns. The Experimental Farm Network, which offers it, argues the F2 generation proves more widely adaptable than the F1, since the original was selected under California conditions. West Coast Seeds positions the F2 for mild-climate regions. Growers choose it when they want a large, cheap, seed-started bed and can accept more plant-to-plant variability than a clonally propagated stand would give.