Selektion von Stangenbohnensorten (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) für den Mischanbau mit Mais
Selection of climbing bean varieties (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) for mixed cropping with maize
by Mathias Starke
Date of Examination:2018-07-10
Date of issue:2018-08-15
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Heiko C. Becker
Referee:Prof. Dr. Gunter Backes
Referee:Prof. Dr. Stefan Siebert
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Abstract
English
The mixed cropping of maize and climbing beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an interesting alternative to the pure cultivation of silage maize, as it potentially combines the high yield performance of maize with the ecological benefits of the cultivation of a legume. The symbiotic nitrogen fixation of the climbing beans makes it possible to reduce the use of mineral nitrogen fertilizers. Improved soil cover reduces weed pressure and also the risk of erosion in heavy rain events. The resulting silage can either be used as a substrate in the biogas plant or serve as a valuable source of protein for cattle feeding. From previous work it is known that a special maize breeding program for mixed cropping with climbing beans is not necessary, because modern varieties with high stability are already well suited for it. In contrast, suitable climbing bean varieties are barely available so far, since the mixed cultivation with maize is fundamentally different from the conventional cultivation in horticulture. For this reason, the present work dealt with the selection of climbing bean varieties especially for mixed cropping with maize. To this end, several late maturity bean varieties, which potentially have a high biomass performance at the time of maize harvesting, were grown in combination with current maize varieties available on the seed market. On the basis of the total dry matter yields of the mixtures and the proportion of bean dry matter to total dry matter, the productivity of the mixed cropping combinations was assessed and compared to the pure cultivation of maize. Finally, a recommendation for the best bean varieties for practical cultivation was made. By measuring the nitrogen content of the bean plants in the experimental year 2017, it was also possible to compare the crude protein contents and crude protein yields of the mixtures and of the pure maize cultivation, which were used to evaluate the potential of this mixed cropping system in cattle feeding. The cultivation of maize and climbing bean varieties took place in three-year field trials. Maize and climbing beans were sown in mixed cultivation with a crop density of 7.5 plants/m² each. The pure cultivation of maize was carried out additionally with a crop density of 7.5 and 10 plants/m². Data from the locations “Einbeck” (2015, 2016 and 2017), “Göttingen” (2015, 2017) and “Wiebrechtshausen” (2017) could be used for statistical calculations. In 2015, the average total dry matter yield of the mixed cropping of 197 dt/ha was reached with a share of about 10% beans. The best plots delivered bean shares of about 24%. However, at the Göttingen site, yields were significantly lower compared to “Einbeck” because of a severe drought during the emergence of both crops. The 2016 trials showed that maize and climbing beans sown as short as possible in succession had significantly higher bean yields than combinations where beans were sown four weeks after the maize - as it was done in 2015. With an average of 6%, the bean proportion was still very low, while at the same time very high total dry matter yields of about 225 dt/ha were reached. On average across all environments of the experimental year 2017, very high bean proportions of about 15% were achieved, among others due to an almost simultaneous sowing of maize and beans which made it possible to get bean proportions up to 30% of the dry matter. Over all trial years, the bean variety 'WAV512' proved to be very productive and even reached the highest bean yield of a special maize/bean combination of 45.9 dt/ha in 2017. This variety is also particularly suitable for mixed cultivation because it has an extremely small thousand-grain weight of only 185 g and thus reduces the additional costs of the bean seeds to a minimum. For practical cultivation, this variety is therefore recommended and can be obtained from VanWaveren Saaten GmbH, Göttingen. In addition, as several varieties of maize were also part of the field trials, it was found that maize varieties from earlier ripening groups generally allow higher bean yields in the mixture, but at the same time produce lower total yields. Mixed cultivation with later maize varieties, however, achieved higher total yields, but caused lower bean proportions. In all experimental years, the clearly negative correlation between maize and bean yield in the mixture (between -0.64 * and -0.88 **) was manifested. A comparison with the maize pure cultivation showed that the yield reduction of the maize yield in the mixture with high bean proportions was stronger than the gain in total yield because of the beans. In the year 2017, the highest yield reduction was observed with 17% compared to the pure maize cultivation with 10 plants/m². The assessment of the nitrogen content of the climbing beans in the experimental year 2017 showed, however, that it is possible to obtain an added value by increasing the crude protein content of the silage, which amounted to between 0.85% and 2.88% of the dry matter. Here, a strong dependence on the location was observed due to differences in bean dry matter yield and crude protein content of the bean plants. In particular, under a nitrogen deficiency, a higher crude protein yield per hectare was achieved. In contrast, with relatively low bean contents in the mixture, pure maize cultivation with 10 plants/m² achieved higher crude protein yields. In the second part of this work, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was used to identify molecular markers that are significantly associated with climbing bean traits which are important for mixed cropping with maize. This should facilitate future breeding projects of climbing beans specifically for this cropping system. For this purpose, a set of 276 accessions of the species P. vulgaris was genotyped with the BARCBean6K_3 bead chip, which contains a total of 5398 SNPs. The germination under suboptimal temperatures and the tolerance to slight frost temperatures in the primary leaf stage – both characteristics are important for a simultaneous sowing of maize and beans at the regular sowing time of maize – were assessed on 177 bean accessions in a climatic chamber. The frost damage was recorded by a visual scoring of the turgor pressure, leaf color and plant stability. However, markers significantly associated with these features could not be identified here. In addition, agronomic traits were evaluated in the 2017 field trial at the locations “Einbeck” and “Göttingen” with 173 different bean accessions. Here, significantly associated SNP markers could be detected for the string type of the bean pods as well as the beginning of flowering. A comparison with the literature confirmed a large part of the associations found, among other things also for the growth type of the beans. At the same time, it was found that a strong but insignificant association of the late biomass performance of the climbing beans was in the position of a SNP significantly associated with flowering time. Thus, an early selection of late-flowering and therefore high yielding accessions without cultivation would be conceivable. Another investigated feature was the content of the bean accessions on the antinutritional ingredient “phasine”. This is potentially a significant threat to the suitability of climbing beans as feed; but the actual importance in a ruminant diet has not been sufficiently investigated, yet. However, since it is already known that there is a large variation in phasine content of the beans, a selection of varieties with a very low content would eliminate any concerns about this ingredient. The association analysis with 152 accessions showed significant associations of markers on chromosomes 3 and 4. A review of possible candidate genes in the online database JBrowse revealed a gene cluster in the immediate vicinity of the SNP on chromosome 4, which suggests a functional relationship of phasine with trypsin inhibitors, another important antinutritive ingredient of beans. For the position of the significant marker on chromosome 3, however, no candidate gene could be found. By selecting a very productive bean variety, the present study helped to potentially establish this mixed cropping system in practical agriculture as a real alternative to the pure cultivation of maize. Additionally, the genome-wide association study with P. vulgaris provided molecular markers associated with traits that should be considered in a special breeding program of beans for mixed cropping with maize. This information may help to develop even more productive bean varieties in the future.
Keywords: Maize; Climbing beans; Mixed cropping; Silage; Phaseolus vulgaris; Corn