Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for Early Spring Arch Shed Cultivation of Common Beans
The scientific name of the common bean is Phaseolus vulgaris (commonly known as the second-season bean or four-season bean), belonging to the genus Phaseolus in the Fabaceae family. The common bean originated in Mexico and Argentina in the Americas, and was first introduced and cultivated in China at the end of the 16th century.
Morphological characteristics of the common bean
An annual twining or nearly upright herb. The stem is covered with short soft hairs or becomes hairless when old. Pinnately compound leaves with 3 leaflets; stipules lanceolate, about 4 mm long, basifixed. Leaflets broadly ovate or ovate-rhombic, the lateral ones oblique, 4-16 cm long, 2.5-11 cm wide, apex long-acuminate with a fine point, base rounded or broadly cuneate, entire margin, covered with short soft hairs. Racemes shorter than the leaves, with several flowers borne at the top of the inflorescence; pedicels 5-8 mm long; bracteoles ovate, with several raised veins, about equal to or slightly longer than the calyx, persistent; calyx cup-shaped, 3-4 mm long, the upper 2 lobes fused into a slightly concave lobe; corolla white, yellow, violet or red; standard petal nearly square, 9-12 mm wide, wings obovate, keel about 1 cm long, apex coiled, ovary covered with short soft hairs, style flattened. Pod strap-shaped, slightly curved, 10-15 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide, slightly swollen, usually hairless, with a beak at the tip; seeds 4-6, oblong-elliptical or kidney-shaped, 0.9-2 cm long, 0.3-1.2 cm wide, white, brown, purple or mottled, hilum usually white. Flowering in spring and summer.
Early Spring Arch Shed Cultivation Techniques for Common Beans
1. Selection of improved varieties
Select the improved variety “Di Yun Dou Wang Nong Huan No. 1”, which has a dwarf plant, flattened-round pods about 22 cm long and about 2 cm wide, thick flesh without strings, and good market quality.
2. Seedling raising
Use the nutrient pot seedling method in a sun-facing seedbed. The seedling raising time is in early March. The nutrient soil ratio is 7 parts field soil plus 3 parts organic coarse fertilizer, with 2 kg of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer mixed in per cubic meter. After mixing evenly, fill into nutrient pots, water thoroughly in the pots, and after the water seeps in, place two bean seeds in each nutrient pot, then cover with 2 cm of fertilized soil. After sowing, immediately set up a frame and cover with film, using 0.1 mm polyethylene plastic film, and bury the edges tightly with soil.
3. Temperature management
From sowing to emergence, use closed management, without removing the film or ventilating. After the seedlings emerge, begin ventilating to lower the temperature, keeping the daytime temperature no higher than 25°C and the nighttime temperature above 10°C. Ventilate at noon on sunny days, first opening the bed openings on the east and west sides, then gradually opening the south side bottom for ventilation, and 3-4 days before transplanting, open the ventilation openings wider at night to harden the seedlings.
4. Transplanting
Field transplanting is done half a month before the last frost, that is, around April 10, planting in large and small rows, with a small row spacing of 40 cm, a large row spacing of 60 cm, and a plant spacing of about 25 cm. Apply 30 kg of compound fertilizer per 667 sq m, applied along with the opening of trenches. On two rows of common beans, insert a bamboo strip every 1.5 m, cover with ultra-thin film, and press down both sides. Water along the furrow to help seedling recovery and growth.
5. Ventilation and film removal
5-6 days after transplanting, the bean vines begin to resume growth. When the temperature at noon is above 25°C, begin piercing holes at the top of the small arch shed for ventilation, from few to many. In mid-May, make a longitudinal slit at the top to let the bean vines grow freely. Keep the film pressed tightly along both sides for a period to help the bean vines elongate upward and prevent lodging. Water in time during drought, and no additional fertilizer is needed.
6. Harvesting and marketing
Harvest tender pods early, first to reduce vine burden, and second to improve market quality. After the first harvest is complete, if the bean vines are growing vigorously, fertilizer and water can be applied again to promote recovery of the bean vines and produce a second crop.