Abstract:

This study aimed to explore the effect of different pruning and topping methods on agronomic characters and yield of different faba bean varieties, and summarize the optimum pruning and topping methods of different varieties. ‘Chenghu 10’, ‘Chenghu 18’, ‘Chenghu 19’ and ‘Chenghu 25’ were used as materials, and four pruning and topping treatments including pruning and topping, removal of main stem, removal of invalid branches and topping were set up for each faba bean variety to analyze the effects of different treatments on the agronomic traits and yield components of different faba bean varieties. The results showed that among different treatments, the topping treatment can effectively control plant height. The average yield of fresh pod and fresh grain of ‘Chenghu 10’ were increased by 20.9% and 25.7%, respectively, and were significantly higher than that of the control under the topping treatment. Under the treatment of removal of main stem, the average yield of fresh pod and fresh grain of ‘Chenghu 19’ increased by 61.2% and 35.5%, both of which were significantly higher than that of the control. Each pruning and topping treatment had no significant effect on yield-related traits and fresh yield of ‘Chenghu 18’. Topping treatment could improve the 100-grain weight and seed emergence rate of ‘Chenghu 25’. In summary, the effect of pruning and topping on fresh yield of faba bean varies among different faba bean varieties, as well as among different pruning and topping methods. Different pruning and topping methods can be selectively adopted to improve some yield-related characters among different special varieties in order to obtain higher economic benefits.

Key words: faba bean, variety, pruning and topping, fresh yield