Yield production in two contrasting forms of spring-sown faba bean in relation to water supply

Abstract The production and grain yield of a semi-determinate (Minica) and a determinate variety (Ticol) of spring-sown faba bean were compared under five different irrigation treatments during 1986 and 1987 at the University of Nottingham. Although the number of reproductive structures (flowers and pods) was greater in Ticol than in Minica, grain yields were greater in Minica. The harvest index increased less rapidly in Ticol than in Minica for each increase in total dry matter. However, in both varieties grain yield was proportional to dry matter production which was greater in Minica. Since this proportionality was unaffected by irrigation treatment it was concluded that neither variety had a particular moisture-sensitive growth phase. Lower crop growth rates in Ticol than in Minica under non-irrigated conditions suggest that Ticol may be more susceptible to water stress than Minica.