Optimising Plant Establishment 2018 Bradvale Faba Bean Experiment

Data from the 2018 crop establishment trial at Bradvale, VIC. The trial compared the establishment of Samira faba beans at different densities, under a conventional seeder (Vaderstad Seed Hawk) and under a precision seeder (Vaderstad Tempo), and at two different row spacings (a narrow row spacing of 250mm, and a wide row spacing of 500mm). The experiment was run under the UOA1803-009RTX GRDC research project led by the University of Adelaide, with the experimental trial and data collection managed locally by Southern Farming Systems (SFS).

Files:2018 SFS Faba bean.xlsx

Experiment setup:Experiment managed locally by Southern Farming Systems (SFS). The trial was organised as a split plot with 2 main plot treatments (conventional seeder vs precision seeder) and 4 subplot treatments (two row spacings, 250mm and 500mm, by two different target plant densities, 10 and 18 plants/m2), arranged spatially in 4 ranges and 12 rows with 6 replicates, for 48 plots total. The variety used for this trial was Samira faba bean.

Variables recorded:establishment count (plants/m2), soil moisture (%), peak biomass dry weight (kg/ha), harvest biomass dry weight (g), harvest index, uncorrected yield (t/ha), moisture (%), corrected yield at 14% moisture (t/ha)

Data collection and assessment:The trial was sown on 01/06/2018 for both the precision seeder and the conventional seeder. Establishment counts were made on 25/06/2018, 02/07/2018, 09/07/2018 and 20/07/2018 on 3m lengths for specified treatments along one range only, with the soil moisture also measured during the establishment counts. Peak biomass dry matter was assessed at all plots. Date of harvest was 20/12/2018, with the harvest biomass dry weight and harvest index recorded, and the crop yield (in t/ha) and moisture content recorded.