Optimising Plant Establishment 2021 Wallup Faba Bean Experiment

Data from the 2021 crop establishment trial at Wallup, VIC. The trial compared the establishment of PBA Bendoc faba bean at different densities, under a conventional cone seeder and under a precision seeder, and at two different row spacings (narrow 12" row spacing vs wide 15" row spacing). The experiment was run under the UOA1803-009RTX GRDC research project led by the University of Adelaide, and the experiment and data collection were managed locally in Wallup by the Birchip Cropping Group (BCG).

Files:2021 Birchip faba bean.xlsx

Experiment setup:This experiment was managed locally by the Birchip Cropping Group (BCG). The trial was organised as a split split plot with 4 treatments of target plant densities (10, 15, 20 and 30 plants/m2), two different row spacings (narrow 12" row spacing vs wide 15" row spacing), and two different seeders (conventional cone seeder vs precision seeder), with 4 replicates. The design was embedded in a spatial grid with 16 rows (not including two buffer rows on either side of the trial extent), and 4 ranges, for 64 plots total. The variety of faba bean used in this Wallup trial was PBA Bendoc.

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

Data collection and assessment:Plant emergence rates were counted for each plot on 10 separate occasions between 01/06/2021 and 05/07/2021, and establishment counts for each plot were recorded in plants/m2. Seedling depths were recorded for 5 plants across two rows each, but only for two of the treatment combinations. Interplant distances were measured by paddock survey. NDVI measurements were made on 20/08/2021. Biomass cuts were taken and weighed at Growth Stages 30 and 99, with the weights recorded in grams, biomass recorded in t/ha, and biomass plant counts recorded. At harvest, the yield in t/ha, the 1000-grain weight in g, and the number of seeds/m2 were recorded.