GRAIN YIELD OF DRY BEAN CULTIVARS GROWN UNDER RAINFED AND IRRIGATED CONDITIONS AT TWO SOWING DATES

摘要

Common bean is the second most important crop in Mexico and this legume has played an important role in the diet of high percentage of people in our country. Nevertheless, average consumption has declined approximately by half compared to that consumed 30 years ago. The cultivated area with dry beans has also been reduced in more than 500 thousand hectares during last decade (1). This reduction in the cultivated area with dry bean is even more marked under rainfed conditions in the Mexican Highlands,mainly due to high production risks. On the other hand, dry bean cultivated under irrigated conditions represent less than 6% of the total cultivated area. Considering that predominate climate at the Highlands is semiarid, with an average precipitationof 300 to 350 mm during the growth cycle, drought stress is one of the main limiting factors affecting grain yield. Another constraint of dry bean production is the scarcity of irrigation water stored in dams or aquifers. Therefore, to guarantee enough dry bean production to satisfy consume demands in future years is important to develop both, new dry bean cultivars having better adaptation traits to water stress conditions, as well as crop management practices focused in reducing production risks and increase water use efficiency. In this study, grain yield of three dry bean cultivars grown under rainfed and irrigated conditions at two sowing dates was evaluated.