Effects of plant population density on determinate and indeterminate forms of winter field beans ( Vicia faba) 2. Growth and development

In studies at the university of Nottingham at Sutton Bonington in two consecutive seasons beginning in 1986/87, bourdon, and indeterminate cultivar, and 858, a determinate selection (provided by plant breeding international, Cambridge), were compared under six target plant population densities ranging from 10 to 80 plants/M 2 . As the season progressed, total dry matter production increased to a maximum and then declined. However, growth rates slowed at pod set because, it is suggested, of the change in the chemical composition of the newly synthetized biomass, from carbohydrate to protein, at that time (...)