Blanco Austral, a cultivar of chickling vetch (Lathyrus sativus L.) obtained through selection of yield per plant and its components

Abstract

After several years of plant selection and field trials, the cultivar Blanco Austral, obtained through selection of yield/plant (W) and its components (XYZ), is presented.
The trials indicated that the best period for planting chickling vetch in Valdivia, Chile is the month of August; later sowings will produce gradually lower yields. Sowing during the last 15 days of August produces blooming of plants 84 to 91 days later, with the a harvest yield in February of over 3.5 ton/ha. No response was seen to the application of phosphorus to soil already containing 12 ppm or more of usable P, but a response was noted to the application of potassium to soil containing only 47 ppm of K.
A characterization of Blanco Austral, sown on August 25, 2000, at a rate of 140 kg/ha , indicated that yield/plant (W) was 9.15 g/plant, pods/plant (X) was 15.12, grains/pod (Y) was 2.04, and the average seed weight (Z) was 0.31 g; correlation values (r) for W with X was 0.82**, for W with Y was 0.30*, and for Y with Z was 0.47**.
Analysis of dry grains (89.2% dry matter) indicated that the Blanco Austral cultivar contained (% of dry matter) 23.5% protein, 11.55% fiber, 75.24% starch, 3.9% sugars, 0.89% ether-extract, and 2.89% ash, with 0.25% P, 1.22% K, and 0.12% Mg.