Dry Bean and Soil Response to Tillage and Row Spacing
1998
Xu, Chuanguo | Pierce, Francis J.
Specific studies relating tillage system with performance and yield of dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are limited. This study examined how tillage and row spacing affect dry bean development, growth, and yield. The study was conducted on a Parkhill loam (fine-loamy, mixed, nonacid, mesic Mollie Endoaquepts) from 1989 through 1991. Six tillage treatments (moldboard plow, moldboard plow without secondary tillage, chisel plow, ridge till, no-tillage, and no-tillage plus cultivation) and row spacings of 56 and 71 cm were evaluated in split-plot design. ‘Mayfiower’ dry bean followed maize (Zea mays L.) in a maize-dry bean-sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.)-oat (Avena sativa L.) rotation. Canopy height, trifoliolate leaf number, leaf area, and total biomass of dry bean were measured at three times in 1990 and four times in 1991, and seed yield was measured at harvest. Soil bulk density, total porosity, macroporosity, and saturated conductivity were measured in September of 1989 and 1990. Soil water contents were measured weekly at the 0- to 15-cm, 15- to 30-cm, and 30- to 75-cm depths. In general, there were no interactions between tillage and row spacing over the three years. Dry bean yields in the 56-cm row spacing were 0.3 to 0.6 Mg ha⁻¹ higher than in the 71-cm row spacing for all three years. Tillage had no effect on yield in the dry year of 1989, but no-tillage reduced yields 0.57 and 0.9 Mg ha⁻¹ in 1990 and 1991 compared with moldboard plowing. Ridge tillage and no-tillage plus cultivation in 1990 and chisel plowing in 1991 also reduced dry bean yields. Tillage affected soil water contents slightly in 1990, but had little effect on soil properties measured in the fall.
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