Response of yield and seed quality of faba bean (Vicia faba) to irrigation and nutrient management

Faba bean is considered to be sensitive to moisture deficit and nutrient state in soils. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted at Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh from November 2018 to March 2019 to assess the response of faba bean to different irrigation and nutrient regimes. The experiment consisted of four levels of irrigation viz., rainfed (no irrigation), one irrigation at the early-branching stage, one irrigation at the pod formation stage, two irrigations at early branching and pod formation stages and four nutrient managements viz., 0-0-0-0, 5-20-20-5, 10-40-40-10, 15-60-60-15 kg of N-P₂O₅-K₂O-S/ha, respectively. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design assigning irrigation in the main plot and nutrient management in subplot with three replications. The highest number of nodules/plant (58.67), shoot dry weight/plant (1.20 g), number of filled pods/plant (50.33), seed yield (1.49 t/ha) and crude protein (31.55%) were found in two irrigations at early branching and pod formation stages while the lowest values of these parameters were recorded in rainfed condition (no irrigation). In case of nutrient management, the highest number of nodules/plant (60.00), shoot dry weight/plant (1.28 g), number of filled pods/plant (52.69), seed yield (1.70 t/ha) and crude protein (32.70%) were obtained when fertilized with 10-40-40-10 kg of N-P₂O₅-K₂O-S/ha, respectively while the lowest values of these parameters were recorded in control nutrient management (0-0-0-0 kg of N-P₂O₅-K₂O-S/ha, respectively). In case of interaction, the highest number of nodules/plant (65.33), shoot dry weight/plant (1.48 g), number of filled pods/plant (55.67), seed yield (1.99 t/ha) and crude protein (34.20%) were recorded in two irrigations at early branching and pod formation stages fertilized with 10-40-40-10 kg of N-P₂O₅-K₂O-S/ha, respectively. Therefore, application of two irrigations at early branching and pod formation stages fertilized with 10-40-40-10 kg of N-P₂O₅-K₂O-S/ha, respectively seems to be promising technique for faba bean cultivation.