Planting and Management of White Kidney Beans

White kidney bean , also known as big white bean, is an ancient and precious edible bean in China with a long history of cultivation. White kidney beans are grown in many areas. Let’s learn about the planting and management of white kidney beans.

1. Site selection and land preparation

Choose a field with deep and loose soil, medium fertility, low groundwater level, good drainage, and ventilation and sunshine. Before planting, deep plowing and leveling the land should be done to a depth of 12 to 15 cm, and the soil should be harrowed flat and fine, then ridges should be made. If there is no foundation for deep plowing or deep loosening, deep plowing or deep loosening should be done first, with deep plowing of 15 to 18 cm and deep loosening of 25 to 30 cm.

2. Seed treatment

Select seeds with wide adaptability, strong stress resistance, high and stable yield, excellent appearance and quality, high commercial rate, and large and full grains, and germinate the selected seeds. For artificial sowing, soak the seeds in 1% formaldehyde solution for 20 minutes 2 to 3 days before sowing, then rinse with clean water, soak the seeds in 40℃ warm water for 3 to 4 hours, and then germinate at 25 to 28℃ for 24 hours. When the radicle breaks through the seed coat (i.e., turns white), place them in a cool place for sowing.

3. Sow seeds at the right time

Generally, for fields at a lower altitude with water for irrigation, sowing is chosen in late April. For fields above 2500m in altitude and without water for irrigation, sowing is chosen in late May. Use pure breed or intercropping. Pure breeds are planted in single ridge and single row ponds, with 786 ponds per mu, ridge spacing of 0.8m, pond spacing of 0.6m, and 3 seeds per pond. Dry the seeds for 1 to 2 days before sowing or germinate them.

4. Reasonable fertilization

In order to cultivate pollution-free organic food, 1500kg of organic fertilizer, 5-6kg of urea, 40-50kg of general calcium and 3-4kg of potassium sulfate should be applied per mu, and organic fertilizer should be applied as base fertilizer. Calcium sulfate and potassium sulfate are used as seed fertilizers. When the field fertility is low, 50% of the urea is used as seed fertilizer, and the other 50% is used as flower fertilizer and applied when the plants first bloom. After 30% of the plants in the field bloom, spray potassium dihydrogen phosphate on the leaves 1 to 2 times, with a dosage of 400g per mu.

5. Intertillage and weeding

After the seedlings are all grown, weed and loosen the soil in time, cultivate the soil in time after rain, and combine cultivation with soil building before putting them on the shelves, and clean the drainage ditches at the same time. Remove weeds, thin out seedlings, and determine the number of seedlings to be transplanted in a timely manner during the seedling stage. Thinning and transplanting should be done after the seedlings have grown to the same level and have 3 to 4 true leaves. If dead seedlings or missing ponds are found, replanting or replacement seedlings should be carried out in time.

6. Insert the rod to guide the vines

20 days after germination, when the seedling stems are 20 to 30 cm long, insert the poles and add soil in time, and guide the vines up the poles in a counterclockwise direction. Depending on the thickness of the bean stalks, one stalk (thick) is planted per pond or one stalk (thinner) per plant. The height of the bean stalks is 1.8 to 2 m. Choose a thicker wooden or bamboo pole and insert it firmly into the soil 10 cm away from the plant.

7. Capping and pruning

Topping is when the main and side vines grow around the pole to a height of 200cm, then the vines that exceed the top of the pole are cut off 1cm away from the stem node; pruning is based on the number of seedlings left in each pond and the vine division of the plants, leaving a proper amount of strong side vines produced on the 1st and 2nd nodes of the main vine, and the remaining side vines are cut off in time when they are no longer than 30cm.

That’s it