Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of weeds and fertilizer application on dry bean seed quality. Four dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars, Caledon (C), Ukulinga (U), Gadra (G) and uMtata (M) were planted for seed production using a field experiment designed as a split, replicated three times. There were three levels of weeding W0 (no weeding), W1 (weeding until 50% flowering) and W2 (weeding all the time until harvest). The weeding treatments were split into no fertilizer application (F0) and optimum fertilizer application (F1) according to soil fertility analysis. At harvest maturity, seeds were compared for quality with respect to size, germination and total protein content. Proline content was determined as a measure of crop response to the weed and fertilizer stresses during crop production. Although seed size was affected by management stress, seed germination was not significantly affected by weeding and fertilizer even when it was explored in terms of seed vigor by determining rate of germination and seedling size. However, weed management and fertilizer application significantly affected proline and total crude protein contents in seeds (P < 0.05). The findings of this study show that the biotic stress of weeds and abiotic stress of soil fertility can be used to determine seed physiological quality of dry bean seeds.
Highlights
Dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are primarily used for worldwide human consumption with an increasingHow to cite this paper: Miya, S.P. and Modi, A.T. (2015) Crude Protein and Proline in Dry Bean Seed Respond to Weeding and Soil Fertility Regimes
In cases where grain crops are produced for seed, these factors become even more important, because their implications go beyond the farm product to the market value for future crop establishment
This study showed that relying on the norms for testing seed quality might lead to the conclusion that some important biotic and abiotic stresses had no effect
Summary
Dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are primarily used for worldwide human consumption with an increasingHow to cite this paper: Miya, S.P. and Modi, A.T. (2015) Crude Protein and Proline in Dry Bean Seed Respond to Weeding and Soil Fertility Regimes. (2015) Crude Protein and Proline in Dry Bean Seed Respond to Weeding and Soil Fertility Regimes. T. Modi demand [1]-[3], especially for lower income societies where the crop provides suitable dietary proteins [4]-[6]. As is the case for all grain, fodder and vegetable crops, successful dry bean production begins with high quality seed [7]. Seed quality can be influenced by biotic and abiotic environmental conditions during growth and storage before planting. Seed physiology is an important aspect of seed quality, it is used to a limited extent, mainly in terms of seed viability and germination. Seed viability and germination provide a general indication that the activity of dormancy-breaking enzymes (e.g. alpha-amylase) and phytohormones (e.g. gibberrelic acid) can be confirmed
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