French flageolet type shelling bean. Western European reference variety in its segment. It has an extremely reliable yield potential, especially suitable for mechanical harvesting.
The forecrop should be wheat if possible, after which you must use a subsoiler. Green beans must not be put into areas infected with perennial weeds (creeping thistle, johnson grass etc)!
In spring any ploughing should be closed up and soil surface smoothed out.
Until the seedbed is prepared, the soil should be kept free of weeds by non-selective herbicides.
Beans will benefit from correct nutrient supply, which should be based on soil tests. Ensuring ample phosphorus (P2O5) and zinc (Zn) are essential for high yields.
VARIETY SELECTION
Selection of variety type is based on what the market demands regarding pod diameter, shape and colour, etc.
Within each type there is a generous choice of varieties, yet there could be great variations regarding growing ability, adaptability, resistance or tolerance to diseases, machine harvestability (rate of pod clustering), length of the growing season, the uniformity of flowering and fruit ripening.
It’s recommended to constantly do trials from the ever-changing range of varieties to find the best one which satisfies processing and production demands.
SOWING MACHINE ADJUSTMENT
Sowing is done by modern, pneumatic precision seed drills at the rate of 280,000-300,000 seeds/ha (45 cm row spacing/7.5-8 cm seed distance/4-5 cm depth).
For Romano and Borlotto type beans we sow at a rate of 250 to 260,000 seed/ha.
CHEMICAL WEED MANAGEMENT
After sowing and before emergence use (S-metolachlor) Dual Gold 960 EC 1.6 l/ha, followed by a leavening irrigation, preferably immediately after sowing is complete.
When the bean is around 2-4 true leaf stage till it’s 10 cm in size (3 true leafs = 9 leaf blades), and weeds reach 2-4 true leaf stage, use (bentazon) Basagran 480 SL 2 l/ha dispensed with 300 l/ha water. In practice, Basagran can be used until the flower buds appear! Adhesion boost is important (Silva, Super Spray) because of the waxy-leaved weeds (eg. Hibiscus trionum, velvetleaf and pigweed species). Dispensing must only be done late in the evening or at dawn (max. 25 degrees Celsius) to avoid scorching. 6-10 hours after spraying, a refreshing irrigation is beneficial, but the chance to scorch the beans can also be reduced if the spraying is done in wet/humid soil conditions.
ROW CROP CULTIVATION, PLANT PROTECTION AND CARE
We do row cultivation twice until foliage closure. With the first one we dispense the nitrogen as basic fertilizer (CAN 25-28% active ingredient, possibly fortified with Zinc and Boron micronutrients), which needs to be watered immediately.
After the beans reach 10-12 cm, the use of foliar fertilizer containing Zinc and Boron is beneficial. During this period (azoxystrobin) Amistar can also be combined into foliar fertilizers with a 0.7-1 l/ha dose.
During the flowering period pyrethroid applied with bee sparing technology thins down new cotton bollworm moth populations. At the end of the flowering period and during pod development, if needed, do as described above taking waiting periods into account. In case of severe infection - based on pheromone trap observation - the use of more serious stomach poisons (Affirm, Coragen and Steward 30 DF) is appropriate, even if requesting a special permit is needed, because having a large proportion of damaged pods may result in making the whole harvest unprocessable and the field excluded! The waiting times when using these pesticides must be adjusted to the expected harvest. Generally speaking, harvest is 15-20 days after full flowering.
Against the development of fungal diseases (gray mold) in lush foliage or late-sown crop, the use of chemicals containing folpet as active substance (eg. FOLPAK 48 Sc) is recommended. Treatment is worth doing at flowering or immediately after flowering.
It is possible that in spite of correctly carried out weed control, the area still suffers a breakout of herbicide-resistant weeds (pigweed species, velvetleaf, hibiscus trionum, nightshade and jimsonweed) due to cool, rainy weather. In this case, the hoeing and hand-weeding of the affected field is inevitable. Poisonous weeds (hibiscus trionum, nightshade and jimsonweed) in no way can remain among green beans because it will result in the exclusion of the production area.
IRRIGATION
A good, consistent water supply is necessary for high yield and for a uniform good quality. The plant immediately shows signs of lack of water by darkening the foliage. In particular, one should take care of irrigation in the post-bloom period, because in this period the developing pods will easily dry out at low humidity, or due to lack of water.
Avoid overwatering, because beans do not tolerate standing water.
With regards to weather, in the cultivation of beans the greatest danger under our continental climatic conditions is water scarcity coupled with dry winds or sudden downpour of large amounts of rainfall. Dry weather can be mitigated with a modern sprinkler (linear) irrigation system, whilst the accumulation of standing waters due to sudden rains can be avoided to a certain degree by correct tillage, and appropriately loosened soil.
