Abstract
Common bean is commonly grown by smallholder farmers under quite diverse farming systems and it is for both food security and income generation. The impact of plant density is important to bean growers for yield optimization and the inadequate source of phosphorus leads to low productivity due to its significant in growth and development. This study focused on determining optimal spacing of different bush bean varieties for enhancing productivity in relation to application rates of P-fertilizers. A field experiment was conducted at Selian Agricultural Research Institute during short and long rain cropping seasons of 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 respectively. Treatments comprised of three bush bean varieties (Lyamungu 90, JESCA and KATB1), three spacing options 50 cm x 20 cm; 40 cm x 20 cm and 30 cm x 20 cm and four levels of P-fertilizers of 0 kg ha-1; 20 kg ha-1; 40 kg ha-1 and 60 kg ha-1 replicated three times in randomized complete block factorial design. Both treatments and their interaction showed significant differences (p ≤ 0.05). The combination for spacing of 30 cm x 20 cm with planting density of 333,333 plants ha-1 and P-fertilizer rate of 60 kg ha-1 with productivity of 2580 kg ha-1 enhanced bean productivity compared to commonly used combinations with productivity of < 600 kg ha-1. Key words: Productivity, interactions, food security, plant density and yield responses.
Highlights
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the leading leguminous crop, accounting for 78% of land under legumes in Tanzania (FAO, 2013)
ARI-Selian is located at Arumeru district (Arusha region) in northern Tanzania which lies at 10° 22' S latitude and 40° 10' E longitude with an altitude of 1378 m above sea level with mean annual temperature and rainfall of 19.2°C and 1103 mm respectively
Treatments comprised of three bush bean varieties Lyamungu 90, JESCA and KATB1 sourced from SARI bean section; three plant densities of 200,000; 250,000 and 333,333 plants ha-1 maintained at a spacing of 50 cm x 20 cm, 40 cm x 20 cm and 30 cm x 20 cm respectively and four levels 0, 20, 40 and 60 kg ha-1 of di-ammonium sulphate (DAP) fertilizer as a source of phosphorous
Summary
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the leading leguminous crop, accounting for 78% of land under legumes in Tanzania (FAO, 2013). Annual consumption of beans in the world is as high as 66 kg per person (Grisley, 1990; Petry et al, 2015), while in Tanzania per capita bean consumption is 19.3 kg per person, contributing 16.9% protein and 7.3% calories in human nutrition and 71% of leguminous protein in diets. Average bean yields in Tanzania are around 500 kg ha-1 the potential yield under reliable rain-fed conditions is 1500–3000 kg ha-1, using improved bean varieties accompanied with good agricultural practices. The main reasons for the low yield obtained by most smallholders are; low soil fertility, inadequate use of improved bean varieties, poor crop managements and susceptibility to insect pests and diseases (Hillocks et al, 2006 and Saimon et al, 2016)
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