A Detailed Guide to Plum Bean Planting Time: When Is the Best Time to Plant

Plum beans are generally cultivated in open fields in summer, and sowing can usually begin successively after mid-January. However, because the climate varies from place to place, the sowing time also differs. For example, in the Yangtze River Basin region, plum beansare planted from May to July, while in North China the planting time is mostly in June.

Plum bean planting methods:

1. Seed selection and sowing

According to pod color, plum beans can be divided into white plum beans, green plum beans and purple plum beans. Among them, green plum bean pods are flat and thin, crisp and tender; purple flat beans are similar to white plum beans, with thick pod flesh that becomes soft and tender when cooked. When sowing, in combination with plowing, apply 3000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu plus an appropriate amount of chemical fertilizer as base fertilizer. The fertilizer must be mixed evenly with the soil, then rake and level the ground. Plum beans are generally direct-sown, using furrow sowing or hole sowing, with plant spacing controlled at 35-50 cm and row spacing at 100-130 cm. Generally, sow 3-4 seeds per hole, and after emergence keep two seedlings per hole.

2. Field management

Plum beans have strong drought tolerance, require water during the seedling stage, and need watering during the vine-extension stage and pod-setting stage. Generally, water 1-2 times during the vine-extension stage, and water once every 10 days during the flower and pod stage. After watering, promptly carry out intertillage and weeding, and combine this with topdressing to prevent flower and pod drop or excessive vegetative growth. Before flowering, apply fertilizer lightly and in small amounts; after flowering, during the pod-setting stage, apply fertilizer heavily. Intertillage should be shallow, as one year of root injury, and when fertilizing, pay attention to the rational combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and pay attention to the application rate of nitrogen fertilizer. Before vines begin to extend, set up trellises, or after vines extend, promptly use string to guide the vines onto the trellis. When guiding the vines, make the stems and vines evenly distributed on the trellis. When the main vine grows to 1.5 m, pruning and pinching can be carried out to encourage more lateral branches and vines on the lateral branches, and to promote earlier flowering and pod setting.

3. Pest and disease control

For plum bean diseases, watering, and the main pests are aphids and pod borers. Aphids can be controlled with imidacloprid and acetamiprid, and attention should be paid to the concentration when using them. Pod borer larvae feed on the beans, and in severe cases eat the entire pod hollow. Control can be carried out by spraying foliage with 20% fenvalerate 2500-fold solution or 50% fenitrothion 1000-fold solution, alternating once a week to avoid developing resistance.

The above is the relevant introduction to plum bean planting time. We hope it is helpful to everyone.