The effect of water stress, commencing from the late cell division period, on in vivo grain growth was studied in relation to grain sucrose, water status and in vitro starch synthesis. Detached ear experiments were conducted to assess the effect of sink dehydration on grain filling processes under non-limiting source conditions. Water stress caused premature grain desiccation and resulted in a marked decline in grain sucrose and reduced grain weight. Both sucrose uptake and conversion to starch in vitro were increased by mild water stress (solute potential (Ψs)−0·8 MPa). However, a decline in Ψs below this optimum resulted in reduced sucrose uptake and starch synthesis not attributable to a reduced supply of sucrose. Stressed grains which failed to accumulate dry matter in vivo showed significant starch synthesis when cultured in vitro. Grains from in situ and osmotically stressed plants showed a lower capacity for starch synthesis in vitro. The results indicate that grain filling processes under stress conditions are limited by (1) low substrate availability and low Ψs within the sink i.e. an unfavourable seed environment (non-lasting effect) and (2) reduced synthetic capacity of the sink (carry-over effect).

A joint model for plot yield in response to fertility trends and interplot competition is described. The model combines the mixed model representation of a cubic smoothing spline to model fertility and a regression model with auto-regressive terms to model competition. Estimation is based on a generalization of residual maximum likelihood. The methods were applied to a series of 70 sugar beet trials conducted by the Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge, UK, and the results summarized.

Three experiments on winter wheat, each lasting 5 years and on different soil types, were used to test the effects of incorporating different amounts of straw, mainly to determine the importance of achieving uniform distribution to avoid adverse effects on grain yield. Decreases in crop growth and/or grain yield as a consequence of incorporating straw were detected in the first year. The decreases were much larger in one experiment where straw was imported and applied to soil that had been fallowed for 12 months before sowing the wheat than in the other two where the straw was incorporated following the harvest of a winter wheat crop. In the subsequent 4 years, incorporating up to 20 t straw/ha had no significant effects on grain yield but there were some significant effects on concentrations and uptakes of N, P and K, especially on the heavier textured soils. The effects on crop growth and yield that were detected in the first year on each site are tentatively attributed to decreases in available N representing that which was required to support the decomposition of the incorporated straw. The relative lack of significant effects in subsequent years seems to imply that a significant proportion of this N was remineralized relatively quickly, and thus available to support the decomposition of the straw that was incorporated in the second year and, after further recycling, in the years after that. Eyespot, caused by the fungus Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides, was decreased by incorporating straw but there were few significant effects on other diseases. The results provide a generally reassuring message for farmers in suggesting that on most, if not all, soils there is little cause for concern about the consequences of incorporating even large amounts of wheat straw before sowing a further crop of winter wheat.

Six sites of variable soil type and environments in England and Scotland were sown with winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Mercia) in the autumns of 1992 and 1993 with optimum inputs for growth. Crop monitoring between February and grain maturity provided data to investigate environmental and physiological factors important in controlling biomass accumulation.

With increasing use of crop modelling as a tool for interpreting experiments and as crop management decision support systems, it is important that all influences on crop productivity are understood. The ‘radiation use efficiency’ or radiation conversion coefficient provides a convenient basis to study these influences.

Significant differences in seasonal radiation conversion coefficients were observed between sites (P < 0·001), ranging from 2·82 to 3·87 g total dry matter/MJ absorbed photosynthetically active radiation. A series of simple dry matter models were developed to help explain biomass accumulation in relation to a number of environmental variables (using the measured green area index as an input) with correlation coefficients [ges ] 0·98 obtained across all sites. Apart from sunlight, differences in the canopy's ability to accumulate nitrogen and maintenance respiration costs were the most significant factors (P < 0·001). The nitrogen effect suggests changes in the conversion of assimilates with nitrogen availability, despite relatively high nutrition levels ([ges ] 180 kg N/ha).

Over all sites the canopy extinction coefficient could be described as a linear function of the site spring time plant population (P < 0·01). A more detailed model considered canopy light attenuation to vary between sites according to sowing date and autumn/winter plant establishment and environment.

Experiments at three sites in 1993, six sites in 1994 and eight sites in 1995, mostly after oilseed rape, tested effects of previous fertilizer N (differing by 200 kg/ha for 1993 and 1994 and 300 kg/ha for 1995) and date of sowing (differing by about 2 months) on soil mineral N and N uptake by winter wheat cv. Mercia which received no fertilizer N. Soil mineral N to 90 cm plus crop N (‘soil N supply’; SNS) in February was 103 and 76 kg/ha after large and small amounts of previous fertilizer N respectively but was not affected by date of sowing. Previous fertilizer N seldom affected crop N in spring because sowing was too late for N capture during autumn, but it did affect soil mineral N, particularly in the 60–90 cm soil horizon, presumably due to over-winter leaching. Tillering generally occurred in spring, and was delayed but not diminished by later sowing. Previous fertilizer N increased shoot survival more than it increased shoot production. Final shoot number was affected by previous fertilizer N, but not by date of sowing. Overall, there were 29 surviving tillers/g SNS.

N uptakes at fortnightly intervals from spring to harvest at two core sites were described well by linear rates. The difference between sowings in the fitted date with 10 kg/ha crop N was 1 month; these dates were not significantly affected by previous fertilizer. N uptake rates were increased by both previous fertilizer N and late sowing. Rates of N uptake related closely to soil mineral N in February such that ‘equivalent recovery’ was achieved in late May or early June. At one site there was evidence that most of the residue from previous fertilizer N had moved below 90 cm by February, but N uptake was nevertheless increased. Two further ‘satellite’ sites behaved similarly. Thus at 14 out of 17 sites, N uptake until harvest related directly and with approximate parity to soil mineral N in February (R2 = 0·79), a significant intercept being in keeping with an atmospheric contribution of 20–40 kg/ha N at all sites.

It is concluded that, on retentive soils in the UK, SNS in early spring was a good indicator of N availability throughout growth of unfertilized wheat, because the N residues arising from previous fertilizer mineralized before analysis, yet remained largely within root range. The steady rates of soil mineral N recovery were taken as being dependent on progressively deeper root development. Thus, even if soil mineral N equated with a crop's N requirement, fresh fertilizer applications might be needed before ‘equivalent recovery’ of soil N, to encourage the earlier processes of tiller production and canopy expansion. The later process of grain filling was sustained by continued N uptake (mean 41 kg/ha) coming apparently from N leached to the subsoil (relating to previous fertilizer use) as well as from sources not related to previous fertilizer use; significant net mineralization was apparent in some subsoils.

Biological resources used by local people for a long period of time preserve historical records and scientific competence attained while they develop, conserve, maintain and utilize the landrace varieties of those crops sustainably, ensuring their descent to successive generations. Ethiopian farmers and the traditional farming systems they still exercise have a tremendous positive impact on maintaining wheat genetic diversity with the associated indigenous knowledge. Twenty-one durum wheat landraces, 11 of which were collected from North Shewa and the remaining 10 from Bale were examined for five qualitative morphological characters. The long beak character was monomorphic at lower altitude (< 2100 m a.s.l.). The phenotypic frequencies for characters showed that the long and intermediate beak types were found in both sites, with the long one being the predominant type in most of the strategic sites (localities). The short beak type was rare in most of the strategic sites (localities) in Bale whereas in North Shewa its frequency reached a maximum of 51%. Black glume was in rare frequency in most of the strategic sites (localities) and districts (depending on size, a district contains several localities). The three seed colour groups (white, brown and purple) were found in a similar proportion across districts, and in situ conservation zones (farmer-based on-farm crop conservation zones, and depending on size a zone contains several districts) with considerable differences among strategic sites (localities). While white glume colour was predominant at lower altitude (< 2300 m a.s.l.), brown glume was most frequent at higher altitude (> 2301 m a.s.l.). The frequency of the purple seed colour increases with increasing altitude. Intra-population polymorphism was common for most traits. The overall estimate of diversity in in situ crop conservation sites is very high (H′ = 0·81±0·01). The first three canonical functions accounted for 85·5% (48·5, 19·7 and 17·4% respectively) of the variation between varieties. The hierarchical cluster analysis revealed two major clusters and eight subclusters. In most cases, the cluster analysis based on the qualitative traits did not necessarily cluster varieties on the basis of their collection sites. The two major clusters contained varieties from Bale and North Shewa in situ crop conservation zones.

Intensive dairy farming with low N use efficiencies may have adverse environmental impact through nitrate leaching. The residual effects of six different temporary grasslands (1994–96) on yield and nitrate leaching in the following cereal crops (1997–99) were investigated on a loamy sand in central Jutland. The grasslands were unfertilized grass–clover and fertilized ryegrass subject to cutting or continuous grazing by dairy cows with two levels of N in feed supplements. In the first year there was sufficient residual effect of the grazed grasslands to obviate the need for supplementary fertilizer, but in the following years gradually more fertilizer N was required to obtain optimal yields. Nitrate leaching decreased as a function of time after cultivation of grassland, but grassland management had little effect on the subsequent nitrate leaching (6 to 36 kg N/ha in unfertilized plots). Application of cattle slurry to cereals influenced nitrate leaching more than the history of the grassland and caused the annual mean nitrate concentration to exceed the EU Drinking Water Directive upper limit in most cases. Presumably, large differences in N-input during the grassland phase of the crop rotation had relatively little effect on the subsequent N release because of variable N losses during grazing. Possibilities for further improvement of the utilization of grassland N following cultivation are limited when the current knowledge has been implemented. If the N use efficiency of dairy farming systems is to be further improved the utilization of N during the pasture phase is crucial.

An experiment was conducted over seven sites in eastern England sown to winter cereals, whereby the soil mineral nitrogen (N) and N recovery in the crop were measured frequently during the active growth period. Plots received 100 kg/ha fertilizer N on one of three dates in spring (28 March, 11 April and 25 April) on each site in each of the three years (1994 to 1996), and these were compared with controls with no applied N. At one site, uncropped plots were included, and measurements of gaseous N emission, soil respiration, soil microbial biomass and root tissue N concentration were also made. The fertilizer applications boosted yields by at least 3 t/ha at all sites, but apparent recovery of fertilizer N varied throughout the previously known range of 45–85%. Soil type and timing of application had no effect on N recovery, or on final yields. N was mineralized from soil sources throughout the growth period, but mineralization was outweighed by ‘‘immobilization’’ of large amounts of N (around 30 kg/ha) in the soil, chiefly during May when crop growth was most rapid. This occurred on all sites with a crop, but not where the crop was absent. Measured losses of N2 and N2O were very small (<70 g/ha/dayN) on the site where they were measured, and no other evidence of loss or storage of N was found. The apparent recovery of fertilizer N at each site, was almost exactly explained by the amount immobilized during May. We conclude that the poor recovery of spring-applied N was due, not to losses as previously assumed but to temporary immobilization during the period of most active crop uptake. Immobilization was caused primarily by the presence of the crop.

Starch gel electrophoresis was carried out on ten monosomic alien addition lines (MAALs) of Oryza officinalis (CC genome) in O. sativa (AA genome) at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India during 1993–1995. The diploid progeny from MAALs were studied for possible gene transfer of isozyme genes. Analysis showed introgression for alleles of wild species for peroxidase, esterase and acid phosphatase isozymes in progeny of MAAL 2, esterase in MAAL 7 and acid phosphatase in MAAL 6, indicating partial homology between the two genomes. MAAL 2 yielded the highest number of recombinants. The potential of addition lines for alien gene transfer as well as for linkage mapping is discussed.

Eighteen experiments were carried out over a 6-year period (1989–94) on three different soil types to compare the effects of a broad-spectrum fungicide, applied as 1-, 2- or 3-spray programmes at different growth stages, to control foliar diseases on early and later-sown Blenheim malting barley. Powdery mildew, caused by Erysiphe graminis (Blumeria graminis) f. sp. hordei, was the dominant disease in all 6 years. Sowing date had a major effect on grain yield and ex-farm quality of the malting barley. The earlier-sown treatments gave significantly greater yield than the later-sown in 13 of the experiments, and significantly lower grain N concentrations and screenings (small grains <2·2mm) in 14 and 16 of them, respectively.

Early and more frequent fungicide applications improved grain yield and reduced grain screenings but had no significant effect on grain N. Early-applied fungicide (i.e. before GS 33) was generally the most effective in controlling disease, increasing yield and reducing screenings. The magnitude of the response depended on disease severity. In those years when disease was low on the early-sown crops (1989,1991 and 1994), the early-applied 1-spray programme and 2-spray programmes increased grain yields by relatively small amounts in both early and late-sown crops. In the other 3 years (1990,1992 and 1993), when disease severity was greater, the early-applied 1-spray programme and 2-spray programmes gave much greater grain yield increments on both early and late sowings. The 3-spray fungicide programme gave the greatest yields in most of the experiments but they were not significantly greater than the best of all the other treatments. Grain screenings were reduced by fungicide applications in both early and late-sown crops, but the early-applied 1-spray programme and 2-spray programmes were generally the most effective in reducing screenings.

Phosphorus (P) availability is often restricted in alkaline soils. The objective of this study was to determine if the plant availability of P from liquid ammonium polyphosphate fertilizer (APP) would be enhanced when blended with fluid sulphur (S) sources of differing acidification potential. Eight field studies with ‘ Butte 86 ' hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were conducted in 1995 and 1996 in eastern North Dakota, USA, comparing no P, 9·8 kg/ha of P, and 9·8 kg P/ha plus 11·2 kg S/ha from different S sources. The S sources were elemental sulphur (ES), ammonium sulphate (AS), ammonium bisulphite (ABS), ammonium thiosulphate (ATS), potassium thiosulphate (KTS) and potassium sulphate (KS). The P and S fertilizers were banded with the seed at planting. Phosphorus fertilization gave a typical ‘starter effect’, stimulating tillering, early growth and P uptake. Phosphorus uptake at the 4–5 leaf stage was increased by addition of acid-forming S fertilizers to the APP. Grain yield response to P applied with the seed was typically 400 kg/ha. The enhanced P uptake observed at the 4–5 leaf stage when certain S sources were added to APP did not lead to additional grain yield. Wheat grain yield in North Dakota comes almost entirely from the contributions of the main stem, T1 and T2 tillers, and initiation of these tillers was essentially complete when APP alone was banded with the seed.

Nitrogen-15 enriched ammonium sulphate was applied to micro-plots in a field in which two leguminous (white clover and peas) and two non-leguminous (ryegrass and winter wheat) crops were grown to produce 15N-labelled crop residues and roots during 1993/94. Nitrogen benefits and recovery of crop residue-N, root-N and residual fertilizer-N by three succeeding winter wheat crops were studied. Each crop residue was subjected to four different residue management treatments (ploughed, rotary hoed, mulched or burned) before the first sequential wheat crop (1994/95) was sown, followed by the second (1995/96) and third wheat crops (1996/97), in each of which residues of the previous wheat crop were removed and all plots were ploughed uniformly before sowing. Grain yields of the first sequential wheat crop followed the order: white clover > peas > ryegrass > wheat. The mulched treatment produced significantly lower grain yield than those of other treatments. In the first sequential wheat crop, leguminous and non-leguminous residues supplied between 29–57% and 6–10% of wheat N accumulated respectively and these decreased with successive sequential crops. Rotary hoed treatment reduced N benefits of white clover residue-N while no significant differences in N benefits occurred between residue management treatments in non-leguminous residues. On average, the first wheat crop recovered between 29–37% of leguminous and 11–13% of non-leguminous crop residues-N. Corresponding values for root plus residual fertilizer-N were between 5–19% and 2–3%, respectively. Management treatments produced similar effects to those of N benefits. On average, between 5 to 8% of crop residue-N plus root and residual fertilizer-N was recovered by each of the second and third sequential wheat crops from leguminous residues compared to 2 to 4% from non-leguminous residues. The N recoveries tended to be higher under mulched treatments especially under leguminous than non-leguminous residues for the second sequential wheat crop but were variable for the third sequential wheat crop. Relatively higher proportions of leguminous residue-N were unaccounted in ploughed and rotary hoed treatments compared with those of mulched and burned treatments. In non-leguminous residue-N, higher unaccounted residue-N occurred under burned (33–44%) compared with other treatments (20–27%).

This paper reports an analysis of the yield of sugar beet crops grown under experimental conditions between 1993 and 1995 in the UK. Crops were either healthy (unstressed) or subjected to drought, infection with Beet yellows virus (BYV) or a combination of both. The study investigated whether the large differences in yield between the crops grown in different seasons and subjected to different stresses could be accounted for by simple relationships between total biomass and radiation interception (εs), transpiration (εw) or εs and εw adjusted for mean saturation deficit (Ωs and Ωw respectively). Mean values of εs, εw, Ωs and Ωw in healthy crops were 1·42 g/MJ, 0·89 g/kg, 6·76 g/kPa/MJ and 4·29 g/kPa/kg respectively. Variations in the dry matter yield between seasons were best accounted for by Ωw and less well by εw or εs. Ωs accounted for least variation in yield between seasons. None of these relationships remained constant in stressed plants; both drought and BYV-infection decreased εs (and Ωs) but Ωw was increased by drought and decreased by BYV-infection. However, in common with healthy crops, seasonal variation in yields was best accounted for by Ωw. Mean values of εs, Ωs, εw and Ωw for all healthy, infected and droughted crops accounted for 61, 50, 88 and 97% of the variation in dry matter yield between experiments respectively. Accurate prediction of the yield of stressed plants requires a knowledge of their infection and drought status. If this information is unavailable then the mean value of Ωw for healthy, infected and droughted crops will provide a reasonable prediction of the yield of such crops.

Seed crops of the variety Estima were grown in each of 2 years using two planting dates, two harvest dates, two plant densities and two irrigation regimes to produce seed tubers which had experienced different cultural and environmental conditions. The effects of these treatments on tuber characteristics, sprout production and stem development in the ware crop were then determined in subsequent experiments using storage regimes of 3 and 10 °C. Time of planting the seed crop affected numbers of eyes, sprouts and above ground stems in the subsequent ware crop because environmental conditions around the time of tuber initiation appeared to alter tuber shape. Cooler, wetter conditions in the 7 days after tuber initiation were associated with tubers which were longer, heavier and had more eyes, sprouts and above ground stems. In contrast, the time of harvesting the seed crop did not affect tuber shape or numbers of above ground stems and there was no interaction with tuber size. The density of the seed crop had no effect on any character measured and irrigation well after tuber initiation did not affect tuber shape, numbers of sprouts or numbers of stems. Seed production treatments, which resulted in earlier dormancy break, were associated with tubers that produced more sprouts and above ground stems, in contrast to the conventional understanding of apical dominance. Storage at 3 °C gave fewer sprouts, a lower proportion of eyes with sprouts and fewer stems than storage at 10 °C. The major effects on stem production appear to result from environmental conditions at the time of tuber initiation of the seed crop and sprouting temperature.

The response of eight long-duration pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp.] genotypes to irrigation was studied at Gwalior in Central India during the 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93 growing seasons on an Inceptisol. The crop was grown at two spacings as it was expected that crop density could interact with the crop's ability to extract soil moisture. The irrigation treatment received furrow irrigation four times during the 1990–91 and 1992–93 seasons and twice during the 1991–92 season. Grain yields of all genotypes were 11 % higher when planted at higher density than at low density. There was a differential variation in yield and harvest index among genotypes due to season but not due to spacing and irrigation suggesting the validity of the present approach of testing genotypes under optimum conditions. Grain yield declined by 21 % from the 1990 to 1992 season. The decline was > 1 t/ha in some cultivars (ICPL 366, GW3), and between 0·5 and 1·0 t/ha in others (NP [WR] 15, ICP 87143 and ICPL 84072). In others (Bahar, ICP 9174, ICP 8860) the yield fluctuation was < 0·5 t/ha. The genotypes' mean yields were as high as 2·7 t/ha for ICPL 87143, ICPL 84072 and ICPL 366. There was a significant reduction in both grain yield (16 %), and also above-ground plant dry mass (18 %) due to soil moisture limitation in the unirrigated treatment. Both the above-ground plant dry mass and grain yields were significantly more at high plant density than at lower plant density especially with irrigation. The genotypes were found to differ in their response to production environment (irrigation, spacing and to the undefined differences of the 3 years). Genotypic variation in yield within a production environment was found to vary in relation to changes in harvest index and across environment (irrigation, seasons) due to variation in total dry matter production. A lack of negative relationship between the total dry matter and harvest index suggests the possibility of optimizing both for obtaining higher yield from long-duration genotypes.

Understanding the role of pollinators in determining the outcrossing rate is very important for the development of synthetic varieties of faba bean. Isozyme markers have been used to study the multilocus outcrossing rate in five cultivars under field conditions and in two locations. The study was carried out at Córdoba (Spain) and at Rennes (France). These two locations were chosen because previously studies showed strong differences in cross-pollination. Multilocus outcrossing rates at both locations, Córdoba and Rennes, were 0·65 and 0·33 respectively. Local differences in pollinator abundance and foraging activity were 26 and 32 times higher, respectively, at Córdoba than at Rennes which could explain an outcrossing rate twice at Córdoba compared with Rennes. So, pollinators may play a prominent role in determining the differences in outcrossing between locations. However, at a local level, there is a highly significant positive correlation between foraging activity and outcrossing only at Rennes (where the number of pollinators is scarce) but not at Córdoba (where pollinators are abundant). We suggest that although pollinators have a major impact on the level of outcrossing, in circumstances where there are a lot of pollinators the differences in outcrossing between cultivars depends on other factors among which is the ability of the genotype itself to outcross. No type of floral display seems to be clearly important in the determination of the outcrossing level in such a case. The implication of our results for faba bean breeding strategies is discussed.

Tetraploidy or the use of diploid genotypes with genes conferring high water-soluble carbohydrate concentrations are two mechanisms to increase the nutritive value of perennial ryegrass. This experiment compared the morphology, nutritive value and diurnal variation in water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentrations of 56-day-old plants from six perennial ryegrass cultivars grown under controlled environment conditions. Three of these cultivars were diploid (Melle, Aurora and Cariad) and three were tetraploids (Meltra, Prospero and AberOnyx) which had been derived from the respective diploid cultivars. Two of the diploid cultivars (Cariad and Aurora) had previously been selected for high concentrations of water-soluble carbohydrates. The tetraploid cultivars had fewer (mean 59), larger tillers than the diploids (mean 83). However, with the exception of Melle and Meltra the dry matter yield of the diploid cultivars was not significantly different from their tetraploid derivatives. The effect of tetraploidy on WSC concentrations was dependent on the genetic background of the cultivars. Melle, which had not been previously selected for increased WSC, had a significantly lower WSC concentration than its tetraploid derivative, Meltra. However, tetraploidy did not further increase the WSC concentration in those cultivars previously selected for high WSC concentrations. WSC concentrations in the leaf of both Aurora and Melle rose by 65–70 g/kg throughout the photoperiod, suggesting that differences in the total WSC concentration of these cultivars were not due to any increase in the amount of carbon fixed by Aurora but rather due to differences in the allocation of carbon during growth and development. This experiment demonstrated that tetraploidy was not beneficial in improving the WSC concentration of perennial ryegrass when imposed on two diploid cultivars which had the genetic potential for increased WSC accumulation. However, tetraploidy significantly increased the WSC concentration and by implication the nutritive value of a cultivar derived from a perennial ryegrass cultivar with standard WSC concentrations.

Four extra-short-duration (ESD) lines in 1991 and eight ESD lines in 1992 were grown with adequate soil moisture throughout their growth or subjected to drought coinciding with the vegetative, flowering and pod-filling stages under rainout shelters. In both years, drought stress treatments significantly reduced dry matter accumulation and grain yield. The extent of reduction in grain yield varied with the line and stage of stress imposition. Drought stress at the flowering stage caused greater reduction in total dry matter and grain yield than the stress imposed during the pre-flowering and pod-filling stages. Drought stress coinciding with the flowering stage reduced grain yield by 40–55% in 1991 and 15–40% in 1992 in different lines. ESD genotypes could extract moisture from up to a metre depth during pre-flowering and flowering stage stress but less so during the pod-filling stage stress. Genotype ICPL 88039, followed by ICPL 89021, showed consistently lowest sensitivity to drought stress at flowering. Protracted drought stress commencing from the pre-flowering to flowering or from the flowering to pod-filling stages was more harmful than stress at the individual stages. The reduction in yield under drought stress could be attributed mainly to less total dry matter accumulation, but also increased abscission of plant parts. The results suggest variation in sensitivity of ESD lines in relation to timing of stress, which should facilitate targeted screening for different intermittent moisture stress environments.

The objective of this study was to assess the efficiency of a pedigree intra-cultivar selection, based on widely spaced individual plant performance, in a traditional snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivar, aiming to restore or even improve the cultivar. The programme started with the target of earliness and yield stability, and was progressively advanced with the target of seed shape uniformity. Two parallel pathways were followed: under greenhouse conditions (four generations of selection) and under field conditions (two generations of selection). The average response to selection was 2·43–3·15 and 0·13–0·42 pods/plant per generation for earliness and yield, respectively. The coefficient of variability (CV) of earliness decreased from 81·33 to 39·43 % and from 61·31 to 42·51 % for greenhouse and field grown progenies, respectively. For yield, the CV showed a low decreasing rate, and was stabilized at the end-value of almost 28 %. The results were confirmed during two direct evaluation tests. Firstly, the evaluation of 21 families, as individual spaced plants, showed mean values for earliness of 18·99–22·94 pods/plant and for yield of 32·89–33·09 pods/plant. Secondly, the evaluation of improved selections from the greenhouse and the field and of the source cultivar, in a dense stand, showed that all the selections produced high and stable early fresh pod harvest even 53 days after planting, while the control was still at the vegetative phase. The yield of selected progenies was 219–242 % superior compared with source material. Also, seed stocks of all selections were of the normal long shape. Short-seed progenies were excluded from the breeding programme, since they lacked earliness and stability of performance. The results demonstrate conclusively that it is possible to simultaneously improve earliness and pod yield through diminishing plant-to-plant variability.

Between 1989 and 1999, 33 experiments tested the effects of potassium (K) fertilizer on the yield and quality of potatoes. The experiments were done on a range of soil types and used varieties and management conditions common to modern commercial production. The average yield in these experiments was 48 t/ha. Nearly half of the experiments were done on soils that had exchangeable K values < 120 mg/l (MAFF Indices 0–1) but use of K fertilizer resulted in statistically significant increases in fresh weight yield in only seven experiments. Generally, soil exchangeable K was a poor predictor of the probability of a yield response. Potassium fertilizer caused an increase in dry weight yield in only four experiments and these experiments were characterized by the absence of irrigation, soils with small amounts of exchangeable K and use of determinate varieties. Re-examination of published data supported the findings in the current work: potatoes are not particularly responsive to K fertilizer and the optimal K application rate is rarely > 170–210 kg K/ha. When applied at the optimal rate, the effects of K fertilizer on tuber dry matter concentration were nonsignificant. Exceeding the optimal K application rate caused occasional reductions in tuber dry matter concentrations particularly if potassium chloride (KCl) was used. In the two experiments where it was tested, application rate and form of K had no effect on crisp fry-colour. The effect of K fertilizer on tuber K concentration was measured in 21 experiments and on average each tonne of fresh weight yield was associated with 4·2 kg K. The range in values was large, 2·8–5·7 and related to soil exchangeable K.

For fertilizer recommendations based solely on the probability of a significant yield response to K fertilizer it is suggested that no more than 210 kg K/ha be applied even on soils with < 120 mg exchangeable K/l. For fertilizer recommendations based on crop K removal, an uptake value of 4·8 kg K/t fresh weight (FW), as has been suggested, would be adequate, although errors in the estimation of yield may lead to over or under application of K. Since there was little evidence to support fertilizer policies that apply more K than is removed by the crop a fertilizer recommendation system based primarily on the probability of a yield response would be more than sufficient.