Optimising Plant Establishment 2020 Rupanyup Faba Bean Experiment

Data from the 2020 crop establishment trial at Rupanyup, VIC. The trial compared the establishment of faba bean at different densities, under a conventional cone seeder and under a precision seeder, and at two different row spacings (narrow vs wide rows). The experiment was run under the UOA1803-009RTX GRDC research project led by the University of Adelaide, and the experimental trial and data collection were managed locally in Rupanyup by the Birchip Cropping Group (BCG).

Files:2020 Birchip faba bean.xlsx

Experiment setup:Experiment managed locally by the Birchip Cropping Group (BCG). The trial was organised as a split split plot with 4 treatments of target plant densities (5, 10, 20 and 30 plants/m2), two different seeders used (conventional cone seeder vs precision seeder), and two different row spacings (narrow vs wide row spacings), with 4 replicates. The design was embedded in a spatial grid with 16 rows (not including the two buffer rows on either side of the trial extent) and 4 ranges, for 64 plots total.

Variables recorded:establishment count (plants/m2), seedling depth (mm), interplant distance (cm), NDVI, biomass weight (g), biomass (t/ha), yield (t/ha), 1000-grain weight (g), harvest weight (kg), seed count (seeds/m2)

Data collection and assessment:Plant establishment counts were measured in three 1-metre sections pinned across the plot, with the counts being made on 5 separate measuring occasions between 29/05/2020 and 17/06/2020. Sowing depths for the seedlings were recorded for 10 plants but for only two of the treatments. Interplant distances were also measured. NDVI measurements were made on 29/07/2020 and 23/09/2020 at each plot. Biomass cuts were taken and weighed at Growth Stages 65 and 99, with the weights recorded in grams. At harvest, the yield in t/ha, 1000-grain weight in g, harvest weight in kg and seeds/m2 were recorded.