The effect of plant population and fertility level on yield and its components in two determinate cultivars of Phaseolus vulgaris(L.) Savi

The biological and useful yield of Phaseolus vulgariscv. ‘Banja’ and cv. ‘Diacol Nima’ were compared when sown at populations, in row spacings, equivalent to 5–4–32–3 plants m~2, at four levels of fertility achieved by the use of zero, five, ten and 20 cwt ae-1 respectively of a fertilizer mixture containing by weight 2:2:1 calcium ammonium nitrate, single superphosphate and muriate of potash. Yield and its components were determined at final harvest. The two cultivars behaved generally similarly. Crop Index, while highest in the plants with no fertilizer, was more or less constant for each cultivar over a wide range of biological yields in those plants receiving fertilizer. Yield is determined to the extent of 85–7% and 86–1% respectively for 'Diacol Nima’ and ‘Banja’ by the product of pods/plant and plants surviving to harvest. High densities, although giving the highest grain yields, are wasteful of seed in that the percentage of plants surviving to contribute to yield is much reduced.