The effect of sowing date and irrigation management on faba bean – Leeton 2020

Abstract

Key findings • Irrigating faba bean on a border check layout significantly increased grain yield for all sowing dates (24 April, 15 May and 5 June). • Sowing date affected grain yield under both irrigated and non-irrigated treatments. Delayed sowing after 24 April resulted in reduced grain yields for both dryland and irrigated treatments. • An irrigation efficiency of 1.51 t/ML was achieved with faba bean when sown on 24 April. Any delay in sowing after 24 April resulted in reduced irrigation efficiency. • Sowing on 24 April resulted in a header yield of 6.86 t/ha averaged across all varieties when irrigated. • In the irrigated treatment, PBA Nasma[PBR] achieved the highest grain yield of 5.73 t/ha when averaged across sowing dates.