Everything you need to learn about bean cultivation, harvest and growth.
How to Cultivate French Bean ?
The common bean or French bean is of ancient origin and is believed to be a native of South America.
French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an annual herb or vine. Stems slender, erect and dwarf in the “bush” types, or with long internodes and climbing habit in the “pole” types. The former type is determinate in habit. Leaves are pinnately trifoliate with stipules and stipples. Stipules are small. Leaflets are entire, broad-ovate to rhombic-ovate, pubescent, with long-acuminate apices.
Flowers are few in number, white to violet-purple in colour. Calyx 5-lobed. Corolla papilionceous. Stamens diadelphous. Ovary with numerous ovules. Style is long, coiled. Pods slender, 10.2 to 20.4 cm long, straight or slightly curved the sides convex or rounded the surface glabrous or faintly pubescent with a prominent beak.
Climate:
Though a cool-weather crop, French bean can grow well in higher temperatures than pea. Most of the varieties are day neutrals. French bean is sensitive to frost as also to very high temperatures. A temperature range of 15.6°C to 21.1°C is most suitable for the development of pod.
Soil:
It can grow on practically all types of soils. While light soils, like sandy or sandy loam, are suitable for an early crop, heavier soils are good for the mid-season crop. Highly acidic soils are unsuitable for French bean, which does best when the soil pH is between 5.3 ns 6.0.
Cultivation:
The crop is grown in winter and the seed is sown in the plains from the middle of August to October. In areas, where the winter and the summer are not quite extreme, the sowing can continue up to February.
The recommended varieties are mostly of “bush” type and the in rows are maintained at a distance of 60 to 70 cm, the plant to plant distance in a row being 10 cm. Sowing of seed is done by hand dibbling or by a seed drill at a depth of 2 to 3 cm. Broadcasting of seed is not uncommon, but this method of sowing makes intercultural operations difficult.
About 85 kg seed per hectare is required for planting a “bush” type. In the case of certain “pole” or vine types, the spacing adopted is 1 m × 1m. About half a dozen seeds are sown per hill and later thinning is done to leave only 3 or 4 plants. In this case, the requirement of seed is about 30 kg per hectare.
The manurial and fertilizer requirements of the crop depend on the fertility status of the soil. The recommendations made in this connection are- 24 to 77 tonnes of farmyard manure, 50 to 54 kg of nitrogen, 54 to 110 kg each of phosphorus and potash per hectare.
The complete dose of FYM should be applied to the soil and incorporated in it at the time of land preparation. So far as nitrogen, phosphorus and potash are concerned, they should be placed in bands, about 7 to 8 cm to the side of the seed, at the time of seed-sowing.
Weeds should be got rid of either by hand-hoeing or by chemical herbicides. In the case of “pole” types, staking of the plants is necessary, whereas “bush” types do not need any support.
Harvesting and Yield:
If green pods are required, they can be harvested two to three weeks after the first flowering. Usually, hand-picking is done in this crop. Dry pods are harvested when many of them are fully ripe. This should, however, be done before they begin to shatter seeds. These dry pods are cured for two to three weeks and then threshed by treading of bullocks or by machines.
The yield of green pods of “bush” varieties varies from 60 to 120 q per hectare, while that of dry bean seeds from 11.8 to 17.7 q per hectare.
Varieties:
Some of the recommended varieties of French been are -Giant stringless, Kentucky Wonder, Contender, Pusa Parvati, Jampa and Tendergreen.
How to Cultivate Dolichos Bean (Shim, Sem) ?
Dolichos bean is believed to have originated in India. It is grown all over the country primarily for green pods, which are used as vegetable.
Dolichos bean (Dolichos lablab L.) is an annual herb. The habit is characteristically twining. Most varieties are covered with short white hairs. Leaves are trifoliate; leaflets 7.62 to 15.2 cm long and about three-quarters as broad, broad-ovate, abruptly acuminate and with slightly sinuous margins.
Flowers are white or purple, 1.27 to 2.54 mm long, arranged in groups of 2 to 4, in axillary racemes. Bracteoles equal to the calyx tube. Corolla is papilionaceous. Stamens are diadelphous. Stigma is terminal. Style is bearded below. Pods large, 2.55 to 7.62 cm long, flat, usually curved and beaked with 8.5 mm long flattened seeds of various colours.
Climate:
Dolichos is a crop of the cool season, Some of the strains possess high resistance to drought and are often grown with crops like sorghum or castor.
Soils:
As other beans, it does well in a wide range of soils of average fertility.
Cultivation:
The cultural operations are like those of French bean.
Yield:
An average yield of 50 to 74 quintals of green pods is obtained from one hectare of land.
Varieties:
A vine variety names, “Pusa Early Profilic” was recommend for cultivation by IARI.
How to Cultivate Vegetable Cowpea (Barbati, Lobia) ?
Cowpea is believed to be a native of Central Africa. It is most commonly cultivated in the plains of northern India and is primarily used as a green vegetable as is the case with other beans.
Cowpea (Vigna sinensis Savi.) is a vigorously-growing annual herb. Stems usually prostrate, but certain varieties are more or less erect. Leaves are long petiolate and pinnately trifoliate. Petioles are glabrous and long with stipules 1 to 1.8 cm long, inserted far above the base.
Leaflets shortly stalked, rhomboid-ovate in outline, broadly cuneate or rounded at the base with acute apex. Flowers are shortly pedicelled, white to pale violet in colour, brone on axillary racemes. Usually 2 to 3 flowers on each peduncle, which has 3 bracts. Calyx is campanulate, 4 to 5 lobed. Corolla is papilionaceous.
Stamens diadelphous. Ovary linear, with several ovules. Pods 15.2 to 30.4 cm long, borne usually in clusters, cylindrical and slightly curved, slightly constricted between the seeds. Seeds are globular to kidney-shaped, white, clay, red, brownish, purple to nearly black in colour.
Climate:
Cowpea is a crop of the warm season and it cannot withstand cold temperature. Although it can be grown in spring as well as in rainy season in the plains, heavy rainfall is injurious to the crop. Distinct varieties are grown in the two seasons, spring and rainy.
Soil:
Like French bean, cowpea can be grown on practically all types of soils.
Cultivation:
Two crops of cowpea are usually taken in the plains. However, in places where the summer and winter are not very severe, the crop can be raised throughout the year. For the spring crop, sowing is done in the plains of north India in February-March and in the plains of southern India in December-January.
In the case of the rainy season crop, sowing is done in June-July in the plains all over the country. Broadcasting of seeds is the most common method of sowing, but this makes normal cultural practices difficult. The required seed rate is 12 to 17 kg per hectare. Usually the seed is sown behind desi plough or it is drilled at a depth of 2 to 3 cm.
Thinning of excess seedlings is done later so that the remaining plants are properly spaced. The rows, in which seeds of bush varieties are sown, should be spaced 45 to 60 cm apart and the plants in a row thinned to maintain a spacing of 10 to 15 cm.
The recommendations made regarding application of fertilizers are – 25 to 50 tonnes of farmyard manure, 12 to 50 kg of nitrogen and 60 to 74 kg each of phosphorus and potash per hectare. FYM may be applied at the time of land preparation and N, P and K, before sowing of seed. Intercultural operations are more or less like those of French bean.
Harvesting and Yield:
Like other beans, tender pods are harvested for the market in the case of vegetable cowpea also. Before the pods become fibrous, repeated harvesting should be done. Pods of early varieties suitable for marketing can be harvested from the 45th day after the sowing, and those of late varieties from the 100th day. The average yield of green pods varies from 50 to 74 quintals per hectare and that of dry seeds from 10 to 18 quintals per hectare.
Varieties:
Some of the varieties of cowpea which have been recommended are:
Pusa Phalguni (for summer), Pusa Barsati (for rainy season) and Pusa Dofasli (for both seasons).
How to Cultivate Cluster Bean (Guar, Guwar) ?
Definite information about the area of origin of cluster bean is not yet available. It has, however, been grown for a very long time in India, Africa, Peru and Java. It is a very hardy crop and does well in the plains in the tropics. So far as India is concerned, cluster bean is quite common in the northern plains. A fairly large area is now put under the crop in the plains of south India also. The pod is primarily used as a vegetable.
Cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L) Taub.) is a bush type annual herb. Certain varieties have single stem, on which the fruits are borne in clusters. In other varieties, branches are produced.
Climate:
The crop is very hardy and it grows well in the plains both in the summer and the rainy seasons. It is resistant to drought. In regions, where the summer temperature is high and the rainfall is low and no important vegetable can be grown successfully, an excellent crop of cluster bean can be raised.
Soils:
It can be successfully grown on all types of soil, but it does best in well-drained sandy loam.
Cultivation:
While the crop is sown in the plains of north India during February- March and in the plains of south India during December-January, it can be sown during June- July all over the plains in the country.
Sowing of the crop is usually done by broadcasting, but this makes cultural operations difficult,. The seeds may be dibbled behind the plough or drilled in rows running 60 cm apart, the spacing adopted within the rows being 20 cm to 30 cm. About 14 to 24 kg of seed is required for sowing one hectare.
The crop grown under rain-fed conditions does not require much manuring, but the irrigated crop has to be properly manured and fertilized in order to get high yields. The recommended doses of manures and fertilizers are -10 to 14 cartloads of farmyard manure, 12 to 24 kg of nitrogen, 60 to 74 kg each of phosphorus and potash per hectare. The entire quantity of farmyard manure is to be mixed with the soil at the time of land preparation and that of N, P and K applied before sowing of seeds.
Harvesting and Yield:
The green pods, which are tender and non-fibrous, are picked by hand for vegetable purposes. Whereas an average of 60 to 85 q of green pods are obtained from one hectare, 6 to 8 q of seeds are obtained from an equal area.
Varieties:
The varieties recommended by IARI are – Pusa Sadabahar, Pusa Mausami, and Pusa Naubahar.
Diseases and Insect Pests:
Some of the common diseases of beans are:
(i) Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp., which can be controlled by using disease free seeds and by adopting proper crop rotation and also by treating the seed with 0.125% solution of Ceresan or Captan @ one tea spoonful per kg of seed.
(ii) Powdery Mildew caused by Leveilulla spp., which can be controlled by dusting fine sulphur @ 27 to 33 kg per hectare or by spraying wettable sulphur.
(iii) Bean Rust caused by Uromyces spp., which can be controlled by dusting fine sulphur @ 24 kg per hectare.
(iv) Bean Mosaic caused by virus, which can be controlled by growing resistant varieties.
Some of the common insect pests of beans are:
(i) Bean weevil (Bruchus spp.), which can be controlled by fumigating the seeds with carbon disulphide or by heating the beans up to 54.4°C for 30 minutes, which also destroys the beetle.
(ii) Bean Aphids (Aphis spp. and Macrosiphum spp.), which can be controlled by spraying the crop with nicotine sulphate (1: 600), Lindane (0.1%) or Parathion (0.025%).
(iii) Pod Borer (Adisura spp.), which can be controlled by spraying the crop with 0.2% DDT or BHC.