Plant Husbandry and Management Techniques for Growing Grain Legumes Under Simulated Tropical Conditions in Controlled Environments

Abstract

Practical solutions are described to problems incurred in growing cultivars of cowpea, soyabean, lima bean and pigeon pea under simulated tropical conditions in controlled environments, namely (a) ‘Saxcil’ growth cabinets in which daylength, day and night temperatures, light intensity and quality, relative humidity and CO2, concentration are precisely controlled and can be varied over time; (b) compartmentalized glasshouses and adjoining dark compartments where daylength, and day and night temperatures are automatically controlled and night-break illumination can be provided, and (c) heated plastic film houses in which daylength-insensitive tropical legumes can be grown to maturity during the UK summer months since the environment of the wet tropics can be simulated in all respects other than daylength.