Productivity enhancement of yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis) using various detopping intervals

Detopping refers to the removal of terminal portion from the uppermost node to improve yield of vegetables in the Philippines. Yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis) is an edible legume, mostly grown in home gardens or under partially shaded areas as a companion crop. A study was conducted at the Research Development Extension Unit of University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines to enhance the productivity of yard long bean, through various detopping intervals. The study was laid out using split plot design with three replications. The main plot was cultivars (V1-‘Montenegro’ and V2-‘Galante’), and the sub-plot was detopping intervals/days after planting (DAP) (DI1-14 DAP, DI2-21 DAP, DI3-28 DAP and DI4-35 DAP). Results revealed that detopping at 21 DAP, significantly increased pod yield to 23.52 t ha^‑1, increased the number of stems, produced heavier fresh pods and attained the highest marketable pod yield compared to other treatments. The cultivar ‘Galante’ showed significant results compared to its counterpart ‘Montenegro’ on several parameters, like length of pods, pod fresh weight, marketable pod yield and dry matter yield.