Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a perennial crop, that is usually harvested from late-spring to early-summer.The amount of carbohydrates in the storage roots changes annually and is related to the growth rate of the plantlets.It is well known that the harvested yields of spears are restricted by the level of accumulated carbohydrates in the storage roots.The accumulation of carbohydrates occurs mainly from late-summer to early-winter, and is associated with the senescence of the aerial parts of the plant.Since fructans are the main carbohydrate in asparagus roots, fructan profiles and dynamics are important during asparagus production.Soluble fructans are usually measured using HPLC, however HPLC is unsuitable for detecting the longer-chain fructan oligomers, and is therefore not a suitable technique to monitor fructan levels in the storage roots and their relationships to season, age, cultivar and region.