How to Grow Beans : Beans Cultivation Farming and Management Techniques
Robert is an Agribusiness Consultant, who studied Agribusiness Management
Bean Cultivation Farming
Beans Cultivation Farming
Beans cultivation farming, is one of profitable agribusiness which can be done on all scale basis (ranging from small scale to large scale production). Almost each and every household is able to consume Beans either a multiple of time per month or at least once in a month or after sometimes. They are known to have the following nutrition ingredients; vitamins, low calories, Carbohydrates, protein, fiber, folate, iron, potassium among others. This article will provide you in detail on how to grow Beans, both on small, medium or large scale basis.
Adaptability
Climatic requirements
Dry Bean performs better in warm climate areas and has an optimal temperature range of 18 °C to 24 °C. During flowering, it is advised that the temperature should not go beyond 30 °C for optimal performance. During the maturity stage, a fall in temperature below 20 °C results in reduction in maturity process and this may result in an empty Bean pod which can decrease production output. During planting, observe that the soil minimum temperature does not fall below 15 °C.
Rainfall
For optimal yields, the Beans require annual well distributed rainfall of a range of 600 to 650mm, however, it also gives better results in areas having annual rainfall between 400 to 500 mm which is well distributed.
Soil requirements
Bean growing gives best results when grown on sandy loam or sandy clay loam soils and is known to be ideal. The optimum soil pH for growing Beans is known to be in a range of 5.8 to 6.5. During Beans growing, always ensure that the soil has right moisture content because Beans does not tolerate waterlogging condition. Beans are also known to give less yield when grown on alkaline soils. Make sure you conduct a soil analysis to know the nutrition content of your soil which will help you apply right fertilizer as well as helping to know the soil pH of your land to know if it can favour Beans growing.
Seed quality
It is recommended to plant Bean seeds which has good qualities, which is free from diseases or any pest damage and is known to have a germination percentage of not less than 80% and this will also help you to reduce cost of supplying ungerminated Bean seeds in your field.
Cultivation Practices
Land preparation
Beans to be planted in raising seedbeds should be prepared in a similar way to that of any crop which are mostly grown in the spring. Your seedbeds should be deep for good Bean seed establishment. Make sure any field where you want to grow your Beans is well ploughed or tilled at least 0.5 m in depth and has fine tilt.
Planting period
Make sure you grow your Beans in frost free period for optimal yields. You can grow your Beans in summer or spring, but make sure the soil has the right moisture when planting your Bean seed and this can be done any time in summer or spring.
Plant population and spacing
A range of 250 000 to 350 000 is recommended Bean seed plants per hectare. One hectare of land requires seed quantity of a range of 60 to 100 kg. One kg of Bean seeds is able to contain a range of 3500 to 4000 seeds. The recommended row spacing for growing Beans is known to be 45 centimeters between row to 90 centimeters.
Planting depth
For good germination percentage, make sure you place your Bean seeds 10 to 15 mm deep.
Fertilization
Beans are leguminous which respond negatively to high concentration of mineral salts, therefore, before any application of fertilizer is done, make sure the soil analysis is conducted and any fertilizer application should be based on analysis report results. You can apply 100 to 120 Kilograms of Nitrogen fertilizers and 30 to 65 Kilograms of Phosphorus fertilizer per hectare, but this should be done after soil analysis. Potassium fertilizer can also be applied in the quantity of 50 to 95 Kilograms per one hectare of land.
Irrigation
For complete growing period, Beans requires 600 to 750 mm of water, therefore, make sure any shortfall moisture content is supplied with Irrigation water, while at the same time preventing your field from waterlogging. During flowering make sure you supply 24 to 36 mm of water every 9 or 10 days.
Crop rotations
You can grow your Beans for 3 to 4 years on the same land, but make sure after such period the land is left to fallow. Since Beans are leguminous plants, make sure in rotation they are followed by non leguminous plants and this could be cereal crops.
Weed Control
Always make sure the Bean Field is free from weeds all the time and this can be achieved by use of herbicides or by manual means through hand picking or weeding using a hoe.
Harvesting
You harvest Beans by hand picking them when their moisture content is around 15% at maturity. However, Beans can also be harvested mechanically.
