Winter beans

Field beans grow well on clay soils and heavy loams, provided they are well-drained and limed (pH above 6). Winter beans are not frost hardy and so are risky to grow, north of the Midlands. In some rotations, beans replace the clover break and they are usually followed by wheat. Yields for spring and winter field beans are shown in Table 5.4. The problem with field beans is their variable yield, which is partly caused by adverse weather conditions and susceptibility to pests and diseases (winter beans get chocolate spot, spring beans are aphid prone), and partly due to the uncertain activity of the necessary insect crosspollinators. 

Rotting of shoots and roots. Can cause death in severe attacks on winter beans. 

Winter beans These are often broadcast onto stubble and ploughed in. The surface is then levelled to make travel across the field more comfortable and to kill ary weeds which have emerged. 

Year 1 - oilseed rape Year 2 - first wheat Year 3 - winter beans Year 4 - first wheat Year 5 - peas Year 6 - first wheat Year 7 - winter barley... 

Winter beans may be ploughed-in at 10-15 cm deep or may be broadcast on the ploughed surface and eovered by harrowing, but more than half the area of winter beans is now drilled. The spring crop is usually drilled up to a depth of 7.5 cm, the required depth being influenced by choice of herbicide. 

The usual range for winter beans is 160-200 kg/ha and 160-250 kg/ha for spring beans. A number of factors will affect the number of seed sown and therefore the seed rate ... 

Plant population. Winter beans require an established plant population of 18-20 plants/m post-winter and the chosen seed rate should allow for 20-25% field loss. For spring beans the requited population is about 40 plants/m with a field loss of 0-5%. Dense populations tend to increase disease problems whereas thin crops are less competitive to weeds. In some areas rooks may reduce plant populations. 

Slugs may be a serious problem for winter beans especially where the crop is late sown in a cloddy seedbed and metaldehyde or equivalent should be used. Rooks and pigeons may also damage the crop and bird scarers or other methods of control may be required. 

The fact that is not radioactive means that it can be used safely in experiments in the field, but it also means that much patient work is needed to obtain results. The approach is demanding in terms of time, equipment, and skilled manpower, but it has made a great contribution to the understanding of the nitrate problem. The results that are outlined here are from experiments made by staff at Rothamsted, but key contributions have also come from Scotland and France. " The majority of the Rothamsted experiments involved winter wheat, but oilseed rape, potatoes, beans, and sugar beet were also grown. The soil is a factor in nitrate leaching, and three types were used, the flinty, silty clay loam at Rothamsted, a sandy loam at Woburn in Bedfordshire and a heavy sandy clay at Saxmimdham in Suffolk. 

Up to Harvest. Oilseed rape and field beans are used as break crops for winter wheat on a variety of soils, and potatoes are used on the lighter soils. Sugar beet may also be grown, but this depends not only on the soil but also on the proximity of a sugar beet processing factor. Four Rothamsted-based experiments compared the effectiveness of winter wheat and winter oilseed rape in their use of labelled nitrogen fertilizer. Potatoes were included in two of these experiments and sugar beet and field beans in one experiment each. Two criteria based on the... 

From far left) Crops through the year Fava beans, here in flower, are one of the first major orops of the year. Summer is a time for salad leaves and tender young vegetables, while pumpkins and squash soak up the sun to ripen in fall. Hardy Brussels sprouts are a reliable winter stalwart. 

Plot 4 The onions, garlic, and fava beans planted the year before (see Plot 1). Grow salads over winter. Add leaf mold in spring. 

Brassicas need firm, moisture-retentive soil they do not thrive in dry conditions. In a crop rotation, this family best follows on from the nitrogen-fixing pea and bean family (see p.242). A green manure crop of winter vetch or clover provides leafy brassicas with all the nitrogen... 

SuscoptiMo plants Beans, leaf beet and chard, poppy, nasturtium, and other ornamentals. Winter hosts euonymus (spindle), philadelphus, and viburnum. 

Spinach, winter greens, leeks, suede, turnip, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, parsnips, corn-on-cob, red radish, mange tout, French beans, sweet potatoes, shallots, asparagus, chives... 

In 1998, PDP collected samples of apple juice, cantaloupe, grape juice, green beans, orange juice, pears, spinach, strawberries, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, winter squash, com symp, milk, and soybeans. A total of 8500 samples were collected. Most of these were from fmits and vegetables (7017) with lower numbers of samples collected for whole milk (595), soybeans (590) and com symp (298). The majority of samples (84 percent) was of domestic origin. Overall, 45 percent of the samples contained no detectable residue while 26 percent contained one residue and 29 percent contained more than one residue. Residues exceeding the tolerance level were detected on 0.15 percent of the samples. In another 3.7 percent of the samples, residues of pesticides were detected on commodities for which no tolerances of the pesticides were established (USDA, 2000). 

These didn t make the top twelve, but should be avoided, too Apricots, Cucumbers, String Beans, Winter Squash. ... 

The faba bean, also known as field bean, horse bean and broad bean, is an annual legume that grows well in cool climates. It is well established as a feedstuff for horses and ruminants and is now receiving more attention as a feedstuff for poultry, particularly in Europe, because of the deficit in protein production. At the current time, the EU uses over 20 million t of protein feeds annually, but produces only 6 million t. The most suitable expansion in locally produced protein feedstuffs may be from crops of the legume family (beans, peas, lupins and soybeans). Field beans grow well in regions with mild winters and adequate summer rainfall and the beans store well for use on-farm. 

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