EFFECT OF PLANT POPULATION IN GREAT NORTHERN AND PINTO BEAN PRODUCTION IN WESTERN NEBRASKA

Authors

Carlos A. Urrea Florez, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Eduardo Valentin Cruzado, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

3-2017

Citation

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BEAN IMPROVEMENT COOPERATIVE, No. 60, March 2017. Published by USDA.

Comments

U.S. government work.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION In this project we explored the effect of plant population and row spacing on the yield and quality of great northern and pinto beans grown in Nebraska. This project builds on the findings from a preliminary non-replicated great northern variety trial conducted at Morrill, NE in 2014. That trial included four great northern cultivars with different plant architecture. In general, yields were reduced 18.8% (795 kg ha^-1) when plant population increased from 251,152 to 300,715 plants ha^-1. Yield reduction was greatest in ‘6107’ (24.7%) followed by ‘Marquis’ (20.1%), ‘Beryl-R’ (15.5%) and ‘Coyne’ (14.0%). In the current project we used replicated trials to evaluate the impact of plant population on two great northern and two pinto bean cultivars. Within each market class, one cultivar had a prostrate (III) and the other had an upright (II) growth habit. Our goal was to identify the optimal plant population and row spacing for each cultivar.

MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was conducted during 2015 at the PREC-Scottsbluff, NE. Two great northern, ‘Marquis’ (III) and ‘Draco’ (II), and two pinto cultivars, Montrose (III) and Sinaloa (II) were planted in separate experiments at two row spacing (15 and 30 inches) and four plant populations. Target populations for the 30-inch row spacing were 45,000, 80,000, 100,000, and 120,000 plants/acre. Target populations for the 15-inch row spacing were 80,000, 100,000, 120,000, and 150,000 plants/acre. Four and seven rows were planted for the 30- and 15-inch row spacing experiments, respectively.