Crop Science Grow Your Career with CSSA
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Published in Crop Sci 26:337-341 (1986)
© 1986 Crop Science Society of America
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by De Moura, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Foster, K. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by De Moura, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Foster, K. W.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by De Moura, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Foster, K. W.

Spatial Distribution of Seed Yield within Plants of Bean1

R. L. De Moura and K. W. Foster2

Seed yield in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is subjected to various stresses including high plant populations. Thus, yield may depend on the spatial distribution of vegetative and reproductive structures. This study was initiated to determine the spatial and temporal distribution pattern in terms of main stem and branch node positions of seed yield in four dry bean cultivars: ‘Red Kidney’, ‘Sacramento’, ‘Sutter Pink’, and ‘T-39’. These cultivars were planted at Davis, CA, in the summer of 1983. Each plot was two rows per bed, spaced 76 cm apart, and thinned to an intrarow spacing of 23 cm. Each plot consisted of five randomly selected plants. Beginning at first flower, each flower that opened each day was tagged daily over the next 20 days. The spatial distribution pattern (a result of pods being set at various main stem and branch nodes) of yield showed approximately 70% of the total yield to be in the lower portion of the canopy, i.e., Branches and main stem Nodes 1 to 3 in Red Kidney, Sacramento, and Sutter Pink, and Nodes 1 to 5 in T-39. Considering the branches only, 70% of the total yield was produced on branch Nodes 1 to 3 in Red Kidney, Sacramento, and Sutter Pink, and branch Nodes 1 to 5 in T-39. The main stem yield varied among cultivars, ranging from 7 to 23% of total yield. Distribution of pods at nodes along the main stem varied among cultivars, with those of Red Kidney and Sacramento concentrated at Node 5 or 6 while Sutter Pink and T-39 had pods distributed over a greater portion of the stem and had maximum main stem pod production at Node 6 (Sutter Pink) or 9 to 10 (T-39). Combining spatial and temporal data showed that the percentage of early pods set at a single location was greatest near the main stem and decreased at more distant nodes. The majority of pods produced on the main stem were set during the first 11 days of the reproductive period. Present architecture of the four cultivars tested shows that a large percentage of the yield is located on the lowest branches. Therefore, the development of new cultivars for direct combining higher planting densities will require plant types with more pods on the main stem and/or a major portion produced on the higher branches.

Key Words: Phaseolus vulgaris L. • Plant architecture • Pod retention • Flowering

1 Contribution of the Dep. of Agronomy and Range Science, Univ. of California, Davis, CA 95616.

2 Former plant breeder associate and assistant professor, Dep. of Agronomay and Range Science, Univ. of California, Davis, CA 95616 (R.L.D. and K.W.F. current address: Nor-Cal Wild Rice, P.O. Box 940, Woodland, CA 95695).

Received for publication February 11, 1985.




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
The SCI Journals Agronomy Journal Vadose Zone Journal
Journal of Natural Resources
and Life Sciences Education		 Soil Science Society of America Journal
Journal of Plant Registrations Journal of
Environmental Quality		 The Plant Genome
Copyright © 1986 by the Crop Science Society of America.