Asparagus problem?

[Kessel23]

My dad has around 5 acres of asparagus rows and he was really concerned today, he brought me out there and showed me the asparagus and it was all brown and the berries were moldy. He said that the asparagus was supposed to turn gold first and then brown and he thought there was some sort of disease killing them. He asked me to look it up online and find out what is wrong. I don't know much about plants but they just look like they do every year to me... My dad was pretty busy this fall, maybe he just missed them turning gold or something? Does anyone know what is going on?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I sometimes have troubles with asparagus beetles, they suck the life out of it. They are little red bugs that live in the soil, and lay their eggs on the asparagus. I dust with a pyrethrin based dust to get rid of them.

 

[oregonkat]

Have a look at this article and see if it helps: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/uploads/resources/pdfs/Disease_and_Insect_Pests_of_Asparagus_(E3219).pdf
Sorry to read about your dad's crop, that's a huge bummer. I hope you can figure out what's wrong and a way to fix it!