Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T08:25:19.033Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of plant population density on determinate and indeterminate forms of winter field beans (Vicia faba) 1. Yield and yield components

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

C. J. Pilbeam
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
P. D. Hebblethwaite
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
H. E. Ricketts
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
T. E. Nyongesa
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK

Summary

Using an indeterminate cultivar, Bourdon, and a determinate selection, 858 (provided by Plant Breeding International, Cambridge), of winter field bean, the effect of plant population density on yield was investigated in field trials at the University of Nottingham at Sutton Bonington in three consecutive seasons beginning in 1985/86.

Plant morphology had no effect on the optimum plant density, which for both entries lay between 10 and 20 plants/m2. Bourdon yielded significantly more (2 t/ha, on average) than 858 and this was attributable to more pods/pod-bearing stem, more seeds/pod and heavier seeds. Selection 858 was also less winter hardy.

Yield was most closely correlated with number of seeds/plant, but other components were almost as important, highlighting the plasticity of yield in Vicia faba and the difficulties in attempting to increase yield by selecting for particular components of yield.

In contrast to spring beans, the indeterminate cultivar of winter field bean produced as many branches as the determinate entry and both produced fewer branches at higher densities. There was no difference between the two growth habits in the relative contribution of each stem class to the yield of the whole plant. Higher-order branches contributed less than the main stem to final yield.

Type
Crops and Soils
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adams, M. W. & Grafius, J. E. (1971). Yield component compensation – alternative interpretations. Crop Science 11, 3335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barry, P. & Storey, T. S. (1979). Influence of some cultural practices on the yield, development and quality of field beans (Vicia faba L.). Irish Journal of Agricultural Research 18, 7788.Google Scholar
Caballero, R. (1987). The effects of plant population and row width on seed yield and yield components in field beans. Research and Development in Agriculture 4, 147150.Google Scholar
Gaunt, R. E. (1983). Shoot diseases caused by fungal pathogens. In The Faba Bean (Ed. Hebblethwaite, P. D.), pp. 463492. London: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Graf, R. J. & Rowland, G. G. (1987). Effect of plant density on yield and components of yield of faba bean. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 67, 110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardwick, R. C. (1988). Critical physiological traits in pulse crops. In World Crops: cool season food legumes (Ed. Summerfield, R. J.), pp. 885896. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hebblethwaite, P. D., Hawtin, G. C. & Lutman, P. J. W. (1983). The husbandry of establishment and maintenance. In The Faba Bean (Ed. Hebblethwaite, P. D.), pp. 271312. London: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Hodgson, G. L. & Blackman, G. E. (1956). An analysis of the influence of plant density on the growth of Vicia faba. l. The influence of density on the pattern of development. Journal of Experimental Botany 7, 147165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ingram, J. (1976). The effects of plant density on varieties of winter beans (Vicia faba). Journal of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany 14, 2938.Google Scholar
Ingram, J. & Hebblethwaite, P. D. (1976). Optimum economic seed rates in spring and autumn sown field beans. Agricultural Progress 51, 2732.Google Scholar
Ishag, H. M. (1973). Physiology of seed yield in field beans (Vicia faba L.). I. Yield and yield components. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 80, 181189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kambal, A. E. (1969). Components of yield in field beans, Vicia faba L. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 72, 359363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kondra, Z. P. (1975). Effects of row spacing, seeding rate and date of seeding on faba beans. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 55, 211214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcellos, H. & Constable, G. A. (1986). Effects of plant density and sowing date on grain yield of faba beans (Vicia faba L.) in Northern New South Wales. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 26, 493496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McEwen, J., Yeoman, D. P. & Moffitt, R. (1988). Effects of seed rates, sowing dates and methods of sowing on autumn-sown field beans (Vicia faba L.). Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 110, 345352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pilbeam, C. J., Hebblethwaite, P. D. & Ricketts, H. E. (1989). The response of determinate and semi-determinate faba bean varieties to different sowing dates in the spring. Annals of Applied Biology 114, 377390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pilbeam, C. J., Duc, C. & Hebblethwaite, P. D. (1990). Effects of plant population density on spring-sown field beans (Vicia faba) with different growth habits. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 114, 1933.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pilbeam, C. J., Hebblethwaite, P. D., Nyongesa, T. E. & Ricketts, H. E. (1991). Effects of plant population density on determinate and indeterminate forms of winter field beans (Vicia faba). 2. Growth and development. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 116, 385393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seitzer, J. F. & Evans, L. E. (1973). Response of small faba beans to seed rate and spacing. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 53, 279283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sjödin, J. (1971). Induced morphological variation in Vicia faba L. Hereditas 67, 155180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, R. & Taylor, H. (1977). Yield components and cultivar, sowing date and density in field beans (Vicia faba). Annals of Applied Biology 86, 313320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yassin, T. E. (1973). Genotypic and phenotypic variances and correlations in field beans (Vicia faba L.). Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 81, 445448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar