EFFECT OF PLANT SPACING ON YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF COMMON BEAN (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) VARIETIES AT HARAMAYA, EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The productivity of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is low due to the use of inappropriate inter and intra row spacing in the study area. Thus, a field experiment was conducted at Haramaya, in the main rainy season ‘season of 2019 to assess the effects of plant spacing on Yield and Yield Components of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) at Haramaya, Eastern Ethiopia. The treatments consisted of two common bean varieties, (Haramaya and Babile), three inter-row spacing (30 cm, 40 cm and 50 cm) and three intra-row spacing (5 cm, 10 cm and 15 cm). The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design in a factorial arrangement and replicated three times per treatment. The results showed significantly (P<0.05) higher days to flowering 30cmx5cm(51.50), days to physiological maturity 30cmx5cm (87.83) and hundred seed weight (39.26g) for variety Babile, while highly significant (P<0.01) highest number of pod plant-1 (20.8) of, primary branches (4.8) of, and grain yield (3055.9 kg ha-1) were recorded from variety Haramaya. As inter row increased from 30 cm to 50 cm; plant height, days to flowering, days to physiological maturity and grain were decreased, while pods plant-1 and hundred seed weight were increased in response increasing plant spacing. Further, as intra row increased from 5 cm to 15 cm, plant height and grain yielddecreased, whereas number of primary branch, pods plant-1, seeds pod-1 and hundred seed weight were increased. Among the interaction combinations of variety Babile in 30 cm, 40 cm and 50 cm row spacing resulted in highest, seeds pod-1 (5.55), respectively. From the results of this study it can preliminarily be concluded that the 30 cm inter-row and 5cm intra-row spacing can be used for Haramaya variety to improve the productivity of the crop under the study area.