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Plant Population Influences Niger Seed Yield in the Northern Great Plains
Author(s) -
Kandel H. J.,
Porter P. M.,
Johnson B. L.,
Henson R. A.,
Hanson B. K.,
Weisberg S.,
LeGare D. G.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci2004.1900a
Subject(s) - seeding , sowing , biology , canopy , population , yield (engineering) , agronomy , cultivar , horticulture , botany , demography , materials science , sociology , metallurgy
Niger [ Guizotia abyssinica (L. f.) Cass.] is imported into the USA for use as birdseed. An early maturing niger cultivar, ‘EarlyBird’ may have the potential to be grown in the northern Great Plains. This study evaluated the effect of different EarlyBird niger seeding rates on seed yield, test weight, plant height, and pest incidence. Eight to ten seeding rates, ranging from 0.56 to 16.8 kg ha −1 , or 15 to 465 pure live seeds m −2 , were evaluated in seven environments: Red Lake Falls (RLF) and Kennedy (Ken), MN, in 2000 and 2001, and Carrington (Car), Langdon (Lan), and Prosper (Pro), ND, in 2001. Mean yield across the seven environments was 355 kg ha −1 At RLF00 and RLF01 (Red Lake Falls, MN, 2000 and 2001) the mean yield was 535 and 580 kg ha −1 , respectively. Maximum yields across all environments corresponded to a seeding rate of 284 seeds m −2 and a plant stand of 157 plants m −2 , or approximately 10.0 kg seed ha −1 , whereas 90% of the maximum yields corresponded to a seeding rate of 127 seeds m −2 and a plant stand of 72 plants m −2 , or the planting of slightly under 6.7 kg seed ha −1 Plants at the lowest seeding rate had more heads and higher aboveground biomass per plant than the other seeding rates evaluated; however, individual head weight did not differ. For production purposes, a seeding rate of 6.7 kg ha −1 provided high yields with early canopy closure and uniform seed maturation.