Effect of Two Seeding Rates on Nitrogen Yield and Nitrogen Fixation of Winter and Spring Faba Bean

Abstract

Faba bean (Vicia faba L. minor) is an important grain legume and is widely used as food and feed. It is traditionally used as a spring crop in Central European cropping systems. There is increasing interest in winter faba bean due to a higher yield potential, but limited knowledge of nitrogen (N) yields and nitrogen fixation (NFIX) exists. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare N concentrations, N yield of plant fractions, soil mineral N (SMN) and SMN sparing in the soil after harvest, NFIX and N balance of two winter faba bean varieties (Diva and Hiverna) to those of a spring faba bean (Alexia) using two seeding rates (25 versus 50 germinable seeds m−2) in a two-year field experiment under Pannonian climate conditions in eastern Austria. The winter faba bean varieties had higher N yields and NFIX, not only due to higher biomass yields, but also due to higher N concentrations and a higher percentage of N derived from atmosphere in the biomass. Conversely, the soil mineral N after harvest was lower compared to the spring faba bean. All treatments had a negative N balance due to higher grain N yield than NFIX. Winter faba beans left higher amounts of biologically-fixed N in residues for the subsequent crop, whereas spring faba bean left more SMN. Winter faba bean varieties obtained good results with both seeding rates, whereas the grain yield and the grain N yield of Alexia tended to higher with the higher seeding rate.

Legume-grass mixtures increase forage yield by improving soil quality in different ecological regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

“…This result was attributed to the high permeability of the surface soil layer, coupled with the rapid turnover of the surface litter and residue, increasing the conversion of humus and decreasing the decomposition of organic matter. The microorganisms in the soil were more active in the root layer due to the higher nitrogen fixation capacity of forage peas, promoting the decomposition of humus and resulting in a higher SOM content ( Reinhart, 2013 ; Neugschwandtner et al., 2023 ). In contrast, there were large differences in the SOM content between the ecological zones due to differences in parent soils.…”

“…Nodulation was inhibited when the temperature was lower than the maximum threshold, but the nitrogen fixation ability of fava beans was not affected because of their thick stalks and leaves, which are adapted to the low temperature. The soil TN content of the legume-oat mixture was the highest ( Kage, 1997 ; Neugschwandtner et al., 2023 ). In this study, the ranking of the cropping systems based on the MBN and SON contents in all ecological zones was mixed crops > legume monoculture > oat monoculture, and the highest contents occurred in HZ (YS), MY (YS), and GN (YC).…”

The Fusion Impact of Compost, Biochar, and Polymer on Sandy Soil Properties and Bean Productivity

“…However, domestic bean (Vicia faba L. c.v. Nubaria 2) production is growing more slowly than needed to meet domestic consumption demands. Because of this, the faba bean food gap continues to grow [5]. In fact, the difference widened significantly, growing by roughly 891% from 73 thousand tonnes in 2000 to about 650 thousand tonnes in 2016 [6].…”