Phenological characterization and development of fava beans

Fava bean ( Phaseolus lunatus L.) is a crop of social and economic importance in the Northeast region of Brazil. However, this crop usually has low yields due to inadequate management. Based on the above, this work describes the phenology and development of 'Moita' fava beans in the municipality of Teresina-PI. The experi­ment was installed at the Colegio Tecnico de Teresina da Universidade Federal do Piaui, in the municipality of Teresina-PI, from July to October 2014. The experiment occupied an area of 200 m 2 . Seeds of 'Moita' fava bean were cultivated, with a specific growth habit. The spacing used was 1 m between rows and 0.5 m between plants. Five replicates were used, each containing 10 plants. The cultivar 'Moita' of fava beans presents on average eighteen stages of development, being twelve vegetative stages and six reproductive stages. From sowing to the R1 stage (pre-flowering), 41.26 days were required and from R1 to R6 (maturation of the first pod), another 47.88 days. The maturation of the pods is not uniform, from the beginning to the end of the harvest were 24 days. The fava-bean plant has average height of 14.12 cm when in V1 (first open trifoliate leaves) and reaches on average 78.29 cm in height in the R6.