Hello steemian farmers, I hope you all are good . Agriculture is an important practice in almost every country, which implies that agriculturist contributes a lot to the society at large. And it’s my pleasure to participate in this beautiful contest by contributing my knowledge about Bean Crop Farming.

Beans is one of the common legumes that are found across the globe. It’s a major source of protein in plants. There are varieties of bean crop cultivated globally with major producers like Brazil, India and Africa.
Using snap beans(green beans), Kidney beans and Black-eyed beans as a case study. Below are my view on the uniqueness of these beans plants.

What are the factors that determine the best planting time for beans, and how can farmers achieve this?

• Temperature: the soil temperature and Air temperature are needed for beans to thrive and grow very well. Farmers should monitor soil temperature.
• Sun light and Day: beans are usually warm season crops that require full sunlight. Farmers can achieve this by timing the planting to maximize sunlight to help in photosynthesis.
• The soil moisture: appropriate moisture is needed for seed germination and early growth of beans. Farmers should avoid planting in a soggy soil, farmers can also use plant raised bed to avoid water logging
• Growing season: beans needs a duration of 60-90days to mature. Depending on the type of beans it is.
• Rainfall patterns: farmers should carefully observe the rainy and dry season, because it’s best to plant beans at the early period of the raining season. Because too much rain can lead to the root getting rotten.

There are different bean varieties across the globe, (e.g snap beans, kidney beans, black eyed beans), do they differ in terms of growth habits, disease resistance, and market demand? Tell us.

Yes, they differ in growth habits, disease resistance, and market demand, we will briefly look into their differences.

Growth Habits:

• Snap Beans (Green Beans):
  Growth Type: These are generally bush or pole varieties. Bush beans mature faster than pole beans because pole plants require support
  • Growing Season: They have a short growing season, maturity between 50-60 days.
  • Climate: Snap beans prefer warm climates can tolerate cooler temperatures than the rest.
• Kidney Beans:
  • Growth Type: Kidney beans are more of bush varieties and small pole varieties, they have longer growing season, maturity is 90-120 days.
  • Growing Season: They UGH require more time to develop and need consistent warm weather throughout the season.
  • Climate: Kidney beans are more sensitive to cold or wet conditions compared to snap beans.
• Black-Eyed Beans (Cowpeas):
  • Growth Type: Black-eyed beans are vining plants, they sprawling and growing
  • Climate: Black-eyed beans survive in drought and grow very well in arid regions. Maturity is about 70-90 days.

Disease Resistance:

• Snap Beans:
  Snap beans are prone to diseases like bacterial blight and root rot. Disease management occurs when Snap beans benefit from crop rotation and resistant varieties.

• Kidney Beans:
  • Kidney beans are prone to fungal diseases like rust and blight. through crop rotation, good drainage and other resistant varieties you can avoid root diseases.

• Black-Eyed Beans:
  • Black-eyed beans have high disease-resistant than many other bean varieties because they survive in hot regions. They have a higher tolerance to diseases like powdery mildew, but can still suffer from some fungal infections and root knots in conditions where there are no proper soil management.

Market Demand:

• Snap Beans (Green Beans):
  • Demand: There is a higher demand for snap beans both in fresh markets and frozen markets.
  • Uses: either fresh, canned, or frozen are all used in cooking
  Regions like North America, Europe, and Asia, demands are always high in these areas

• Kidney Beans:
  • Demand: Kidney beans have a robust market, especially in canned and dried forms. They are popularly in Indian cuisine, American cuisine and African cuisine. used in stews, curries due to their hearty texture and used also in soups
  • Regions include North and South America, Europe because they are a key ingredient in vegetarian and meat-based dishes.

• Black-Eyed Beans (Cowpeas):
  • Demand: highly in Africa, India, and the southern United.
  • Uses: Black-eyed beans are used in cooking stews, soups.
  • Regions: Africa, southern U.S, Africa though they have been growing in popularity in other regions as a healthy, protein-rich legume.

What home remedies can bean farmers use to minimize chemical/inorganic use while controlling pests?

I remembered that this home remedies were stated out in my previous post on planting and care but I’ll still list them out.

• Neem oil
• Garlic spray
• Onion spray
• Handpicking
• Wood Ash

How do we store bean in our homes to main their quality and shelf life?

###For cooked beans

• Refrigerate and freeze it

For dried beans.

• Store in a cook dry place
• use air tight containers
• keep away from heat source
• freeze beans for long term storage.

For fresh beans

• Refrigerate
• Blanch and freeze it for a long term
• Do not wash it in water before storing it in the fridge

^{Dried kidney beans that I’ve stored in my house for about 4months}

^{I used snap beans (green beans) to cook fried rice}

I want to invite @alexanderpeace @muthu14 and @hyacinthfavour to participate in this contest.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT