The Effect of Covers Application in the Broad Bean (Vicia faba ssp. Major) Cultivation

The experiment was carried out in 2007–2009. The investigated factors were: the kind of covers – without covering (control object), perforated foil with 100 holes per 1m², polypropylene fibre weighing 17 g m⁻² and broad beans cultivars – ‘Windsor Biały’, ‘Bizon’ and ‘Bachus’. Broad bean seeds were sown at the beginning of the second 10-days of April, at a spacing of 50 × 10 cm. Directly after, sowing field was covered by covers, which were left for 3 weeks. Broad bean was harvested in the stage of milky maturity of seeds. Before the harvest, the number of pods per plant was determined. During the harvest, the weight of pods and the yield of fresh seed were determined and productivity of seed from the weight of pods was calculated. Biometric parameters of pods and seeds i.e. length of pods, the number of seeds in the pod and length, width and thickness of seed was performed. It was found that the broad bean covering contributed to increase yield and improvement of the biometric parameters of pods and seeds compared to the control object without covering. The highest yield of pods and seeds produced cv ‘Bizon’. The best yield was obtained from plants covered by polypropylene fibre. The seeds of cultivated cultivars were characterized by similar parameters. Polypropylene fibre covering favoured formation of pods and seeds in the pods but did not cause changes in the seeds parameters.