Ebrahim Zeinali; Afshin Soltani; Mohammad Khadempir; Mahmood Tourani; Fatemeh Sheikh
Abstract
Gorgan is one of the most important regions for faba bean (Vicia faba L.) production in Iran. However, there is no enough quantitative information about the various aspects of production management of this crop plant. To investigate the effects of inter-row spacing, cultivar and seeding date on the yield ...
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Gorgan is one of the most important regions for faba bean (Vicia faba L.) production in Iran. However, there is no enough quantitative information about the various aspects of production management of this crop plant. To investigate the effects of inter-row spacing, cultivar and seeding date on the yield of green pod and grain, this experiment was carried out at research farm of Gorgan University of agricultural sciences in 2011-2012 growing season. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design as split-plot factorial with four replications. Inter-row spacing (30, 45 and 60 cm) and factorial of planting dates (15 Nov. and 23 Dec. 2011) and cultivars (Barakat and French) were arranged in main- and sub-plots, respectively. The results indicated non-significant effect of cultivar and the significant (P = 0.01) effects of seeding date, inter-row spacing and their interactions on the grain, green pod and biological yields, and pod number per plant, while the effects of cultivars were not significant, statistically. Based on the obtained results, any increase in inter-row spacing or delaying in planting of faba bean will reduce the grain, green pod and biological yields. The maximum yield of green pods and grain yield (21753 and 4530 kg ha-1, respectively) produced in normal planting date (15 Nov.) and 30 cm inter-row spacing. In contrast, the lowest grain and green pod yield (2527 and 13041 kg ha-1, respectively) obtained from delayed planting date (23 Dec.) and 60 cm inter-row spacing.