Broad bean planting time and technology

Broad bean is an annual or biennial herb of the genus Vicia of the Fabaceae family. It is also known as southern bean, broad bean, Buddha bean, Luohan bean, orchid bean, hard bean, soybean, etc. Broad bean cultivation has a long history in China, especially in the area south of the Yangtze River. Broad beans are not only nutritious, but also have a variety of uses. They can be used as food, feed , vegetables , etc. It contains 25-35% protein and 49% starch, with a fat content of only 0.8%. It is a high-protein, high-starch, low-fat legume crop. Let’s learn about the time and technology of broad bean planting .

1. Planting time of broad beans

China's broad bean planting areas are mainly divided into autumn sowing areas and spring sowing areas. Autumn-sowing areas such as the southwest and the Yangtze River Basin are sown in autumn and harvested in the spring and summer of the following year; spring-sowing areas such as the northwest are sown in spring and harvested in autumn of the same year. As a good predecessor of crops such as rice, wheat and corn, broad beans play an important role in crop rotation or intercropping, especially in improving soil fertility and preventing and controlling pests and diseases in rice fields. The suitable sowing time is from early October to early November to avoid damage from low temperatures and frost during the flowering period.

2. How to plant broad beans

1. Avoid continuous cropping

There is a farming proverb that says "focus on wheat rather than beans", because continuous cropping will cause rhizobia to secrete a large amount of organic acid, which will affect root growth, inhibit the activity of rhizobia and rhizosphere microorganisms, lead to short plants, fewer flowers and pods, aggravated diseases and pests, and a significant decrease in yield. Therefore, crop rotation should be practiced.

2. Choose the right variety

The choice of broad bean varieties should be determined based on the purpose of cultivation. If cultivated as vegetable green beans, large-grain seeds should be selected, with the weight of each 100 seeds being more than 120 grams; if cultivated as feed or green manure, small-grain seeds (the weight of 100 seeds is less than 70 grams) with strong branching, rapid growth and high fresh grass yield should be selected.

3. Inoculation of Rhizobia

It is crucial to inoculate with rhizobia before sowing because rhizobia can fix nitrogen in the air and provide nutrients for broad beans. For plots of land that have not been planted with broad beans, supplementing with rhizobia can help to nodulate earlier and produce more nodules. Inoculation methods include: spreading on the topsoil where broad beans have been planted, mixing seeds with rhizobia agents, or applying rhizobia fertilizer in holes.

4. Land preparation

In southern regions, rice fields are often chosen for planting broad beans, and drainage is generally carried out during the waxy stage of the rice. Before sowing, the land should be prepared in beds with a width of 170-200 cm, a furrow width of 33 cm and a furrow depth of 25 cm. Then the soil should be finely leveled and sown. If you don't plow the field and just open the furrows, you can practice sowing beans in the holes.

5. Ensure the number of plants

In order to ensure the yield of broad beans, a sufficient number of basic seedlings must be guaranteed to achieve more branches, more pods and heavier grains. The basic number of seedlings per mu for large-grain seeds needs to reach 10,000 to 15,000 plants, for medium-grain seeds 14,000 to 17,000 plants, and for small-grain seeds about 20,000 plants. The sowing row spacing is 40-50 cm, the nest spacing is 27-30 cm, and 2-3 seeds are sown in each nest. Sow less large seeds and more small seeds.

6. Field management

Mainly fertilization. Although broad bean rhizobia can fix nitrogen in the air, they still need to absorb some nitrogen from the soil. Therefore, it is crucial to apply 500 kg of well-rotted farmyard manure and 25 kg of phosphorus fertilizer. During the growing period, drought resistance can be combined with applying 500 kg of clear manure water per mu, and according to the growth of broad beans and actual conditions, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers can be added in time to increase the number of pods and grain weight.

The above is an introduction to the planting time and methods of broad beans. Many factors need to be considered in broad bean planting. You should not follow the trend blindly. Mastering planting techniques is the key.