Faba bean time of sowing – Wagga Wagga 2014

Abstract

Key findings »» Sowing time has far greater consequences on growth, development, dry matter and grain yield of faba bean than variety choice. »» The dry spring, combined with temperature constraints, imposed a common ceiling to yield despite large differences measured in dry matter (DM), height and reproductive node number across all treatments. »» Early-sown faba bean was primarily affected by severe frosts, while later sown was limited by flower-node production and heat stress. »» Under these conditions, early April sowings resulted in greater biomass, taller plants, more flowering nodes, additional lodging, more disease and greater frost damage. Given a more favourable spring, disease and lodging could have been further exacerbated, inflicting even greater yield penalties to the first time of sowing (TOS). »» Findings from this and previous experiments show the optimum sowing window for faba bean on acidic, red-brown soils of southern NSW to be from 20 April to 15 May. The later sown crops within this window could still be disadvantaged under early unfavourable finishing conditions.