Which month is suitable for sowing broad beans?

Broad beans, also known as southern beans, broad beans or Luohan beans, are a crop widely grown in both north and south of my country. With the Yangtze River as the dividing line, areas north of the Yangtze River mostly plant in spring, while areas south of the Yangtze River mainly sow in autumn. Broad beans prefer plenty of sunlight but are sensitive to high temperatures. They have a certain degree of drought resistance but do not like waterlogging. It can grow in a variety of soils, but the most suitable growing conditions are a mild and humid climate of 20 to 25 degrees. So which month is suitable for sowing broad beans?

Which month is suitable for sowing broad beans?

Broad beans are usually planted in spring or autumn. The spring planting time window is from mid-to-late March to early April, while the autumn planting time window is from early October to early November. Proper planting timing helps ensure neat, even, and strong seedlings. For broad beans that produce dry grains, avoid planting them in early autumn to prevent frost damage caused by low temperatures during flowering.

Broad bean planting technology

1. Variety selection

It is recommended to purchase high-quality commercial broad bean seeds , or use self-saved seeds, but it is not recommended to use old seeds that are more than 2-3 years old, so as not to affect the germination and emergence rate. Choose broad bean varieties that are suitable for local climate and soil conditions, have many pods, large pods, large grains, high and stable yields, and are disease and drought resistant. Select broad bean seeds with full, well-developed, uniform grains, bright colors, and no mildew, pests, or damage.

2. Planting site selection

Avoid continuous cropping or crop rotation with leguminous crops to avoid affecting plant growth and increasing pests and diseases. It is recommended to rotate with gramineous crops such as wheat, corn, and rice, or cash crops such as potatoes and rapeseed. Choose a plot of land with sufficient sunlight, flat or higher terrain. The soil should be deep, fertile, loose and transparent, rich in organic matter, and well-drained. Avoid shaded, low-lying, waterlogged, compacted, and saline-alkali land. The best soil is fine sandy loam or light sandy soil.

3. Seeding management

Treat seeds before sowing: Dry the seeds 2-3 days before sowing to improve germination activity. Before sowing, you can use rhizobia or ammonium molybdate to mix the seeds to improve the nitrogen fixation ability. Use fungicides and insecticides to mix seeds to prevent and control diseases and pests.

Sowing method:

Row sowing or spot sowing, plant spacing 15-20 cm, row spacing 25-30 cm, the number of seedlings per mu is 6000-7000. Sow 2-3 seeds per hole, sowing depth 4-6 cm, sowing amount per mu 6-10 kg.

Weed control management: Spray soil-sealed herbicides within 1-3 days after sowing, cover with mulch or spread straw. Thin out the seedlings in time after they emerge, keeping the strong ones and removing the weak ones.

4. Fertilization management

Apply base fertilizer: mainly decomposed organic fertilizer , with a small amount of nitrogen fertilizer and potassium fertilizer, and more phosphorus fertilizer and calcium fertilizer. For ordinary plots, apply 200-300 kg of commercial organic fertilizer or more than 2,000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu, combined with 4-6 kg of urea + 10-15 kg of potassium sulfate + 30-40 kg of superphosphate or calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer, or 40-50 kg of special compound fertilizer for beans.

Apply topdressing: When the base fertilizer is sufficient, no fertilizer is generally needed in the seedling stage. At the 6-leaf stage, you can use dilute manure and urine water or urea water for irrigation, or spray urea water + potassium dihydrogen phosphate + ammonium molybdate 1-2 times. During the initial flowering period, apply 10-15 kg of balanced compound fertilizer and spray potassium dihydrogen phosphate + boric acid + ammonium molybdate on the leaves. During the flowering and podding period, apply 15-20 kg of high-potassium compound fertilizer, and then spray foliar fertilizer 1-2 times, once every 7-10 days.

5. Watering management

Keep the soil moist after sowing until seedlings emerge. Water less after seedlings emerge until buds and flowering, and appropriate drought will promote deep rooting. The water demand is high during the flowering and pod-setting period. Water should be applied once at the early stage of bud formation and the concentrated pod-setting period to meet the water demand.

6. Key points for pruning and controlling growth

Pruning: pinch off the core leaves of the main stem after 3-4 leaves to promote the growth of side branches. After the flowers fade, cut off the top 3 cm to promote flowering and pod formation.

Control vigorous growth: If there is continuous rainy weather in the early growth stage, spray 15% paclobutrazol 20-30 grams per mu 1-2 times from bud formation to the early flowering stage to control vigorous growth.

7. Management of intertillage and weeding

Before closing the ridges, till the soil twice to break up the compacted topsoil, promote root growth, and control weeds in the field.

The above are the key points of broad bean planting and management techniques. I hope they will be helpful to everyone. When sowing, we must first choose the appropriate planting time based on the local climate.