Density response of climbing beans in two cropping systems

Abstract

Abstract Effects of plant density were evaluated in twelve trials from 1974 to 1976 at the CIAT station in Palmira, Colombia. Climbing beans in monoculture and in association with maize were evaluated under conditions of adequate land preparation, added soil fertility, and chemical control of weeds, insects and diseases when possible. Yields of the climbing cultivar P259 responded to increases in plant density up to 2 × 10 5 and 1.4 × 10 5 plants ha −1 in monoculture and in association with maize, respectively, based on an analysis of eight trials. More important than these optimum density levels, the analyses showed that even under experiment station conditions, plant density explained only a small proportion of the total variation in yield. Support systems and association with maize both influenced response to increased density. Neither maize planting system nor maize density influenced bean yields nor bean density response when maximum bean yields in a trial were below 1.3 ha −1 . There was no significant and consistent cultivar by density interaction in the four trials, two systems and eight cultivars studied. Conclusions on optimum densities from single trial data must be interpreted with caution, and results should be confirmed over a range of conditions before making recommendations to the farmer.