HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Vocanson, A. Articles by Jeuffroy, M.-H. PubMed Articles by Vocanson, A. Articles by Jeuffroy, M.-H. Agricola Articles by Vocanson, A. Articles by Jeuffroy, M.-H. Related Collections Field-Scale Studies Crop Growth and Development Other Crop Management Other Cropping Systems Other Legumes

LEGUMES

Agronomic Performance of Different Pea Cultivars Under Various Sowing Periods and Contrasting Soil Structures

UMR 211 Agronomie, INRA AgroParisTech, BP 01, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France

^* Corresponding author (jeuffroy{at}grignon.inra.fr).

Yield variability of spring pea (Pisum sativum L.) in farmers' fields is mainly due to soil compaction at sowing and abiotic stresses during the reproductive period. Winter peas flower earlier, and thus should be less sensitive to abiotic stress at the end of the cycle, but because of their sensitivity to frost they must be sown late in autumn when soils are very wet. Pea breeders are working on new winter cultivars that are more resistant to frost and highly sensitive to photoperiod and that could be sown earlier in autumn under better soil conditions. Our aim was to measure crop growth, development, and seed yield of different types of pea cultivars using factorial experiments that evaluated the effect of soil structure, sowing period, and cultivar at two sites in France. Compaction reduced seed yield by 18% at Grignon and 6% at Estrées-Mons, but had no significant effect on crop development. November sowings resulted in increased seed yield of about 1 t ha^–1 at both sites compared with spring sowings, and were associated with larger numbers of reproductive nodes and seeds m^–2. Cultivars exhibited contrasting characteristics in terms of mean seed dry weight, seeds m^–2, and number of reproductive nodes, but final seed yields were similar within sowing periods. The ability of the crop to convert crop growth rate to seed number was independent of environment but decreased linearly with mean seed dry weight of the cultivar. This research suggests that pea breeders should develop new winter pea cultivars with earlier flowering to enhance yield.

Abbreviations: BF, beginning of flowering • BM, aboveground dry biomass accumulation • DAS, number of days after sowing • dd, degree-days • EF, early fall • HI, harvest index • LF, late fall • LW, late winter • Ngunit, seed number per unit of crop growth rate • PM, physiological maturity • SD, standard deviation

All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Received for publication November 2, 2005.