Row Spacing, Plant Population, and Genotype × Row Spacing Interaction Effects on Yield and Yield Components of Dry Bean

Abstract

Abstract Dry edible bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production practices in the northern Great Plains have begun to shift from conventional wide (0.76‐m) to narrower row spacings for maximizing seed yields. Field experiments were conducted to determine row spacing and plant population effects for production of dry, edible bean in the northern Great Plains and also to determine if genotypes varied in their seed yield response to row spacing. Yield per hectare of the indeterminate pinto bean ‘UI‐114’ and the determinate navy bean ‘Seafarer’ increased by 52 and 44%, respectively, as row spacing was decreased from 0.75 to 0.25 m during 1977 and 1978. Seed yield of UI‐114 did not increase with increased plant populations, while yield of Seafarer increased as the plant population increased to 222 000 plants ha −1 . Row spacing × plant population interaction for yield was nonsignificant for both cultivars. In another experiment, 10 navy bean genotypes were grown at 0.19−, 0.38−, and 0.76‐m row spacings in both 1984 and 1985. Significantly higher yields were obtained as row spacings decreased. Yields of seven genotypes were up to 57% higher when grown at 0.19− compared with 0.76‐m row spacings. Yield rank of the genotypes tested changed within the three row spacings. Genotype − row spacing interactions may necessitate the testing of breeding lines' potential production at specific row spacings.