RESPONSE OF FRENCH BEAN (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) VARIETIES TO PHOSPHORUS IN THE ACTIVE TISTA FLOOD PLAIN SOIL

Abstract

An experiment was conducted in the field of Fulgach village near the town of Lamonirhat from November, 2014 to February, 2015 to assess the growth and yield performance of French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties and in response to different levels of phosphorus. The experiment consisted of three French bean varieties: BARI Jhar Sheem-1, BARI Jhar Sheem-2 and Nik (released by Lal Teer Seed Ltd.) and different levels of phosphorus, viz. 0, 20,40 and 60 kg P/ha. The experiment was conducted in the Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The seeds were sown on 12 November 2014 and the crop was harvested on different dates from 11 January 2015 to 6 February 2015 depending on suitability of tender pods. Varieties showed significantly different performances on growth and yield attributes except number of branches. BARI Jhar Sheem-1 had the highest plant height, leaf length, leaf breadth, dry matter, pod length, pod breadth, number of green seeds per pod, number of roots but the highest number of pods, pod weight and pod yield were given by BARI Jhar Sheem-2. Moreover BARI Jhar Sheem-2 produced the highest number of leaves and branches per plant with lower disease susceptibility. The highest pod yield (22.70 t/ha) was recorded from BARI Jhar Sheem-2 and the lowest from BARI Jhar Sheem-1. Increasing the level of phosphorus resulted in a significant positive response in the growth and yield attributes except number seeds per pod. The highest dose of phosphorus gave the highest number of pods/plant (34.04) and pod yield (22.12 ton/ha). The combinations of varieties and phosphorus showed significantly difference for all the parameters. The combination of BARI Jhar sheem-2 and 60kg P/ha gave the highest yield (24.40 t/ha). On the basis of economic analyses, the highest net return (Tk. 230723) was obtained from the treatment combination of BARI Jhar sheem-2 with 60 kg P/ha. The benefit cost ratio (2.71) was also found from the same treatment.