EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 06 - 2022 Num. article: 2022/121

New BBCH growth stage keys


The BBCH[1] growth stage keys aim to provide a standard and uniform description of the visible growth stages of plants, using a two-digit decimal code. This system has been developed for many important crops, such as cereals, rice, maize, rape, potato, fruit trees, small fruits, vegetables (see EPPO RS 2016/204). In 1997, the BBCH growth stage keys were recommended by the EPPO Working Party on Plant Protection Products and by Council for use in EPPO countries, thus replacing the previously recommended EPPO growth stage keys. New BBCH scales have recently been published to describe the growth stages of the following plants:


  • Corema album (Jacinto et al., 2022).
  • Cornus sensu stricto species (Klymenko and Ilyinska, 2021).
  • Hazelnut (Corylus avellana) (Taghavi et al., 2022) and ‘Barcelona’ hazelnut (Corylus avellana) (Paradinas et al., 2022).
  • Freesia crop (Freesia x hybrida) (Santili et al., 2021).
  • Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) (Kim et al., 2021).
  • Lantana camara (Kumar et al., 2022).
  • Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) (Ferrer-Blanco et al., 2022).
  • Red-fleshed pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) (Chu and Chang, 2002).
  • Phacelia tanacetifolia (Kubíková et al., 2022).
  • Potato (Solanum tuberosum) grown from different types of planting material (Kacheyo et al., 2021).
  • Shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa subsp. paradoxa) (Konan et al., 2022).
  • Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila) (Amorós et al., 2021).
  • Statice (Buffon et al., 2022).
  • Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) (Kishore et al., 2022).
  • Vaccinium floribundum (Caranqui-Aldaz et al., 2022).

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[1] The abbreviation BBCH derives from the first letters of the German names of Biologische Bundesanstalt (Federal Biological Research Centre), Bundessortenamt (Federal Plant Variety Office) and Chemische Industrie.


Sources

Amorós M de la C, Mauri PV, Curt MD (2021) The influence of tree management practices on phenological growth stages of Ulmus pumila L. (Siberian elm). Annals of Applied Biology 179(2), 259-272.

Buffon PA, Streck NA, Schwab NT, Uhlmann LO, Tomiozzo R, Lima EF, Netto JF, Guarienti VF (2022) A phenological scale of statice. Annals of Applied Biology (in press). https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12765

Caranqui-Aldaz JM, Romero-Saltos H, Hernández F, Martínez R (2022) Reproductive phenology of Vaccinium floribundum Kunth (Ericaceae) and codification according to the BBCH scale based on evidence from the volcano Chimborazo paramo (Ecuador). Scientia Horticulturae 303, 111207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2022.111207

Chu YC, Chang JC (2022) Codification and description of the phenological growth stages of red-fleshed pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) using the extended BBCH scale-with special reference to spines, areole, and flesh color development under field conditions. Scientia Horticulturae 293, 110752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110752

Ferrer-Blanco C, Hormaza JI, Lora J (2022) Phenological growth stages of “pawpaw” [Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal, Annonaceae] according to the BBCH scale. Scientia Horticulturae 295, 110853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110853

Jacinto J, Magalhães T, Oliveira PB, Oliveira C, Luz F, Trindade CS, Valdiviesso T (2022) Corema album (L.) D. Don phenological growth stages according to extended BBCH scale. International Journal of Fruit Science 22(1), 317-328. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538362.2022.2041149

Kacheyo OC, van Dijk LCM, de Vries ME, Struik PC (2021) Augmented descriptions of growth and development stages of potato (Solanum tubeorum L.) grown from different types of planting material. Annals of Applied Biology 178(3), 549-566.

Kim YS, Park CS, Lee DY, Lee JS, Lee SH, In JG, Hong TK (2021) Phenological growth stages of Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) according to the extended BBCH scale. Journal of Ginseng Research 45(4), 527-534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgr.2020.12.006

Kishore K, Kanupriya C, Samant D, Acharya GC, Singh HS, Sahu A (2022) Phenological description and thermal time requirement of tamarind (Tamarindus indica) in tropical conditions. Annals of Applied Biology (early view). https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12777

Klymenko S, Ilyinska A (2021) Phenological stages of development of Cornus L. s. str. species (Cornaceae) according to BBCH scale. Agrobiodiversity for Improving Nutrition, Health and Life Quality 5(2), 185-196. https://doi.org/10.15414/ainhlq.2021.0017

Konan JA, Kouakou CK, Allouan KP, Coulibaly AS, Djidji H, Fondio L (2022) Phenological growth stages of shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa subsp. paradoxa) according to the BBCH scale. Annals of Applied Biology (early view). https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12793

Kubíková Z, Hutyrová H, Smejkalová H, Kintl A, Elbl J (2022) Application of extended BBCH scale for studying the development of Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth. Annals of Applied Biology (in press).https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12779

Kumar A, Singh S, Chand H B, Kumar R (2022) Phenological documentation of Lantana camara L. using modified BBCH scale in relation to climatic variables. Plant Science Today 9(2), 376–385. https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.1

Paradinas A, Ramade L, Mulot-Greffeuille C, Hamidi R, Thomas M, Toillon J (2022) Phenological growth stages of ‘Barcelona’hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) described using an extended BBCH scale. Scientia Horticulturae 296, 110902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2022.110902

Santilli M, Bas-Nahas SS, Medrano NN (2021) Freesia crop (Freesia x hybrida) phenological growth stages according to the BBCH scale. Revista Agronómica del Noroeste Argentino 41(1), 15-25. https://ranar.faz.unt.edu.ar/index.php/ranar/article/view/119

Taghavi T, Rahemi A, Suarez E (2022) Development of a uniform phenology scale (BBCH) in hazelnuts. Scientia Horticulturae 296, 110837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110837