Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T12:33:47.977Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of sowing date and planting density on the structure and yield of autumn-sown, florally-determinate white lupins (Lupinus albus) in the United Kingdom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

I. Shield
Affiliation:
IACR-Rothamsted, Harpenden, Herts AL5 2JQ, UK
H. J. Stevenson
Affiliation:
IACR-Rothamsted, Harpenden, Herts AL5 2JQ, UK
J. E. Leach
Affiliation:
IACR-Rothamsted, Harpenden, Herts AL5 2JQ, UK
T. Scott
Affiliation:
IACR-Rothamsted, Harpenden, Herts AL5 2JQ, UK
J. M. Day
Affiliation:
IACR-Rothamsted, Harpenden, Herts AL5 2JQ, UK
G. F. J. Milford
Affiliation:
IACR-Rothamsted, Harpenden, Herts AL5 2JQ, UK

Summary

The effects of varying the sowing date (early September-late October) and plant density (14–70 seeds/m2) on the establishment, overwinter survival, structure and yield of an autumn-sown, florallydeterminate line (CH304/70) of the white lupin (Lupinus albus) were examined in three contrasting growing seasons between 1991 and 1994. Crops established well when sown in early September and were sufficiently cold-hardy to survive prolonged and extremely severe early winter frosts, but crops sown in late October either lost many plants or were destroyed completely. There was a strong interaction between sowing date and autumn weather on crop structure and yield. Late sowing and cold autumn weather restricted the number of mainstem leaves and first-order lateral branches on the plant, and decreased plant height and yield potential.

Despite considerable differences between years in the weather during the summer and autumn, all crops were harvested in early September. Grain yields ranged from 0·3 to 4·5 t/ha depending on season, sowing date and plant density. Yields were strongly correlated with the number of podbearing axes and pods per m2 and, although actual yields differed depending on growing conditions, the same number of pod-bearing axes (100/m2) was required in each year to achieve maximum yield. The effects of sowing date and autumn weather on plant structure were well predicted by a simple developmental model that related vernalization and leaf development to post-sowing temperature.

Type
Crops and Soils
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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

Duthion, C. & Mingeau, M. (1976). Les réactions des plantes aux excés d'eau et leurs consés quences. Annales Agronomiques 27, 221246.Google Scholar
Ferguson, A. W. (1994). Pests and plant injury on lupins in the south of England. Crop Protection 13, 201210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
George, B. J. (1984). Design and interpretation of nitrogen response experiments. In The Nitrogen Requirement of Cereals, MAFF/ADAS Reference Book 385, pp. 133149. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Heath, M. C. (1987). Grain legumes in UK. agriculture. Outlook on Agriculture 16, 27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huyghe, C. (1990). White lupin architecture: genetic variability and agronomic consequences. In Proceedings of the 6th International Lupin Conference, Chile, 1990. pp. 251–254. Temuco-Pucon: Asociacion Chilena del Lupino.Google Scholar
Huyghe, C. (1991). Winter growth of autumn-sown white lupin (Lupinus albusL.): main apex growth model. Annals of Botany 67, 429434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huyghe, C. (1992). Lupin architectural models. In Proceedings of a Workshop on Physiological and Genetic Approaches to Adapting the Architecture of the White Lupin (Lupinus albus) for Successful Cultivation in Different Regions of Europe, pp. 15.Lusignan: INRA.Google Scholar
Huyghe, C. (1993). Growth of white lupin seedlings during the rosette stage as affected by seed size. Agronomie 13, 145153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huyghe, C. & Papineau, J. (1990). Winter development of autumn sown white lupin: agronomic and breeding consequences. Agronomie 10, 709716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huyghe, C., Harzic, N., Julier, B. & Papineau, J. (1994). Comparison of determinate and indeterminate autumnsown white lupins under the western European climate. In Proceedings of the 1st Australian Lupin Technical Symposium, 1994, pp. 123128. Perth: Department of Agriculture, Western Australia.Google Scholar
Julier, B. & Huyghe, C. (1993). Description and model of the architecture of four genotypes of determinate autumnsown white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) as influenced by location, sowing date and density. Annals of Botany 72, 493501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Julier, B., Huyghe, C., Papineau, J., Milford, G. F. J., Day, J.M., Billot, C. & Mangin, C. (1993). Seed yield and yield stability of determinate and indeterminate autumn-sown white lupins (Lupinus albus) grown at different locations in France and the UK. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 121, 177186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mcewen, J. (1989). Alternative crops and land use: lupins. In Report of the Arable Crops Research Institute for 1988, p. 61. Harpenden: Lawes Agricultural Trust.Google Scholar
Milford, G. F. J., Day, J. M., Huyghe, C. & Julier, B. (1993). Floral determinacy in autumn-sown white lupins (Lupinus albus): the development of varieties for cooler European climates. Aspects of Applied Biology 34, Physiology of Varieties, 8997.Google Scholar
Siddons, P. A., Jones, R. J. A., Hollis, J. M., Hallett, S. H., Milford, G. F. J. & Scott, T. (1994 a). Land suitability for autumn-sown determinate lupins. Report No. I, Soil Survey and Land Research Centre, Cranfield University.Google Scholar
Siddons, P. A., Jones, R. J. A., Hollis, J. M., Hallett, S.H., Huyghe, C., Day, J. M., Scott, T. & Milford, G. F. J. (1994 b). The use of a land suitability model to predict where autumn-sown, determinate genotypes of the white lupin (Lupinus albus) might be grown in England and Wales. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 123, 199205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, W. (1979). Studies on the development of lupins for oil and protein. Euphytica 28, 481488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar