Agronomic performance and seed quality of heirloom fava bean landraces

Abstract

Obtaining high-quality heirloom fava bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) seeds is crucial to crop success, as it directly influences the initial plant development and final yield, in addition to being essential for the species conservation. This study aimed to evaluate the seed physiological quality, morphological characterization, agronomic performance and correlations among variables of fifteen heirloom fava bean varieties. The experiment was conducted in two stages: in the laboratory, where germination, moisture content and weight tests were performed on one hundred seeds; and in the field, where variables such as emergence speed index, final emergence, hypocotyl height and diameter, leaf dimensions, onset of flowering and fruiting, pod morphometry, number of seeds per pod, yield per plot and growth habit were evaluated. A wide variability was observed in the physical and physiological quality of the seeds among the analyzed varieties. Varietal discrimination was influenced by hypocotyl diameter and leaf dimensions. The leaflet width correlated positively with grain yield, whereas no significant correlation was observed between yield and seed quality.

KEYWORDS: Phaseolus lunatus L., morphoagronomic descriptors, seed physiological potential.