Abstract
Common bean is an important crop, consumed as green-shelled bean in several countries. In Chile, green-shelled beans are cultivated often as a dry land crop, vulnerable to drought. The objective of this study was to characterize the hydric and productive responses of four green-shelled bean genotypes subjected to deficit irrigation in order to outline production strategies in the face of increasing water scarcity. Two experiments were evaluated: one pot experiment with three irrigation treatments, supplying 100% of the crop evapotranspiration (ETc) (T100), 50% (T50), and 30% (T30); and an open field experiment with two treatments: 100% (I100) and 40% of ETc (I40). Treatments were applied during reproductive stage in determinate cultivars and vegetative stage in indeterminate plants. Severe water restriction (T30 and I40) in both experiments showed a significant decrease in stomatal conductances, as well as biomass and number of grains per pod; I40 treatment also showed a reduction in chlorophyll fluorescence. Water use efficiency (WUE) was higher under water stress in field (I40), but lower on the T30 treatment from the pot experiment. Determinate cultivars showed 22.7% higher of 100-seed weight compared to indeterminate type, and, thus, higher tolerance to drought. Our results indicate that severe water stress is highly harmful in terms of yield, and a moderate controlled deficit irrigation plus the use of determinate genotypes may be a strategy for producing green-shelled bean successfully under a drought scenario.
Highlights
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the most consumed legumes worldwide because of its high seed nutritional value and low-cost protein source for human and animal consumption [1]
Indeterminate varieties stressed during vegetative stage in the field experiment showed less 100-seed weight and pod length than determinate cultivars stressed during reproductive phase, indicating that stress could affect performance if it affects the processes that occur during the vegetative development of the bean, such as induction and floral differentiation
Our results did not show a clear effect of the cultivar in the physiological and yield response to water stress; in the field experiment, indeterminate cultivars, subjected to water stress during the vegetative phase, showed significantly less 100-seed weight and pods length compared with determinate cultivars subjected to water stress during the reproductive phase
Summary
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the most consumed legumes worldwide because of its high seed nutritional value and low-cost protein source for human and animal consumption [1]. Common bean is used for intercropping that associates with environmental benefits due to the symbiotic interactions with Rhizobium, allowing the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen (N), which is important in soils with low N availability [2]. There is limited technical information on green-shelled beans production, these products are used in the Chilean traditional cuisine and widely consumed in many Latin American countries [4]. More than 60% of the beans worldwide production is concentrated in areas affected by long periods of drought [5], and only 7% have been grown in irrigated land [4]. Bean is one of the legumes most sensitive to water stress among legume species [6]
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