Horticulture :: Vegetables::French beans

Horticulture :: Vegetables::French beans

French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris  L) Fabaceae Bush type Varieties Hills YCD 1, Ooty 1, Ooty (FB) 2, Arka Komal (Sel.9), Premier, Arka Bold, Arka Sampoorna and Arka Karthik are popular varieties. Ooty 1 Ooty (FB) 2 Plains Arka Komal,  Premier, (Sel.9), Arka Suvidha, Arka Anoop, Arka Samrudhi, Arka Suman are under cultivation. Soil A well drained loamy soil with pH range of 5.5-6.0 with cool climate is suited for French bean cultivation. Season Hills February –March Plains October- November Seed rate About 80 kg/ha for hills and 50 kg/ha for plains are required Seed treatment Treat the seeds with Trichoderma 4 g/kg or Thiram or Carbandazim @ 2 g/kg of seed 24 hours before sowing to control fungal diseases. If the crop is raised for the first time it should be treated with Rhizobium as in cluster beans.  Preparation of field Hills Dig the soil thoroughly and incorporate FYM and form beds of convenient size. Plains After two ploughing, form ridges and furrows. Sowing In hills, sow the seeds (2 seeds/hill) in lines or in beds at a spacing of 30 x 15 cm.  In plains, sow the seeds (2 seeds/hill) in the sides of the ridges at a spacing of 45 x 30 cm. Irrigation Irrigation is done immediately after sowing and again on third day and thereafter once in a week. Application of fertilizers Apply FYM 25 t/ha during last ploughing. 90 kg of N and P 125 kg of P/ha should be applied on one side of the ridges. For rainfed conditions of Shevaroy hills, apply as a basal dose of 62.5 kg/ha of Phosphorous as super phosphate and with another half of 62.5 kg/ha Phosphorous as FYM enriched super phosphate. After cultivation Weeding should be given 20 – 25 days and 40 – 45 days after sowing.  The crop should be earthed up after each weeding. Plant protection Pests Aphids and thrips Spray Methyl demeton 25 EC or Dimethoate 30 EC each at 1 ml/lit. In hills, glass house white fly occurs during May – August. Place 20 yellow sticky traps coated with castor oil in polythene sheet to attract the white flies. Pod borer Pod borer can be controlled by spraying Carbaryl 50 WP thrice at fortnightly intervals at the rate of 2 g/lit.  Dust with Carbaryl 10 D at the rate of 2.5 kg/ha Ash weevil Spray phosalone 35 EC @ 1.5 ml/lit. Whitefly Place 20 yellow sticky traps coated with castor oil in polythene sheet to attract the white flies. Diseases Powdery mildew Powdery mildew can be controlled by spraying Wettable sulphur at 2 g/lit or dust Sulphur at 25 kg/ha. Rust Rust can be controlled by dusting Sulphur at 25 kg/ha. Anthracnose Anthracnose can be controlled by spraying Mancozeb at 2 g/lit or Carbendazim 1 g/lit or Chlorothalonil 2 g/lit. Leaf spot Leaf spot can be controlled by spraying Mancozeb 2 g/lit. Root rot Root rot can be controlled by drenching with Carbendazim 1 g/lit in the root zone. Yield 8 - 10 t/ha of green pods in 90 - 100 days. Pole type Varieties TKD 1, KKL-I, Ooty 1, Murungai bean are popularly cultivated. Soil Cool climate with well drained loamy soils with pH range of 5.5-6.0 is suited for pole bean cultivation Season February – March, July - August Seed rate About 50 - 55 kg/ha is required.  Seed treatment Treat the seeds with Rhizobium (4 packets/ha). Land preparation and sowing Prepare the land to fine tilth. Sow the seeds at a spacing of 20 cm between plants in double rows of 30 cm apart with the distance of 1.5 metre between each pair of rows. Irrigation Irrigation is done immediately after sowing, again on 3rd day and after once in a week. Application of fertilizers Apply FYM 25 t/ha, 90 kg each of NPK as basal. 45 kg each of NPK is applied as top dressing on 20 days after sowing. After cultivation Weeding and staking are done at 20 days after sowing. Plant protection Plant protection Pests Leaf hopper, aphids, and glasshouse whitefly Leaf hopper can be controlled by spraying Methyl demeton 25 EC or Dimethoate 30 EC at 2 ml/lit. Pod borer Pod borer can be controlled by spraying Carbaryl 50 WP 2 g/lit. Diseases Mosaic Remove the affected plants and spray with systemic insecticides to control insect vectors. Powdery mildew Powdery mildew can be controlled spraying Wettable sulphur at 2 g/lit or dust with Sulphur 25 kg/ha. Rust Rust disease can be controlled by dusting with Sulphur @ 25 kg/ha. Anthracnose Remove the affected plants and pods and spray with Mancozeb 2 g/lit. Yield Green pods 8 - 10 t/ha in 90 to 110 days.