Phenology, Yield and Growth Pattern of Faba Bean Varieties

Abstract

Faba bean seeds are generally large which limits its adoption as cover crop and/or dual-purpose cover crop/cash crop due to the high seed cost. The purpose of this study was to evaluate six faba bean varieties for their yield and yield components, using phenology, morphology and physiological growth pattern. Faba bean varieties included Early Violletto, Aquadulce, Delle Cascine, Windsor, Early White, and D’Aquadulce, which studied in 2015 and 2016. Aquadulce produced the highest grain yield followed by Delle Casine. These two varieties also produced the highest biomass, which potentially can provide more N to the succeeding crop. Aquadulce and Delle Cascine had the highest HI (40.1 and 41%, respectively) indicating an efficient distribution of assimilates to their seeds.. Delle Cascine produced the highest number of seeds plant−1 and seed weight, respectively. Plant height variation also revealed that varieties Early White was the shortest (40.6 cm) and the tallest (76.0 cm), respectively. Significant differences were observed in regard to the growing degree days required to reach flowering and pod formation stages. Aquadulce and Delle Cascine ranked early among the tested varieties, providing the opportunity for dual purpose and double cropping in short-season areas.