In areas affected by white mold caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, common bean growers have reduced the irrigation level during crop vegetative phase in order to create unfavorable conditions to that disease. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of water stress, N application and soil tillage system on common bean yield. The work was carried out on a Dark-Red Latosol, using a splitplot strip block design, with four replications. The A strips consisted of five irrigations levels and the B strips consisted of three soil tillage systems: heavy harrowing, moldboard plowing, and no-tillage. In the splitplot, four topdress N levels were applied: 0, 20, 40, and 60 kg ha-1 in the first two years, and 0, 40, 80, and 120 kg ha-1, in the last two. Water stress at vegetative phase decreased common bean yield. Increasing topdressing of N compensated, in part, this reduction. Common bean yield under no-tillage evolved with time of adoption of this practice. Soil tillage systems did not affect common bean response to N.
Phaseolus vulgaris; no-tillage; disk harrow; moldboard plow; water stress
