How to Grow Broad Beans for High Yield? The Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial

Broad beans are rich in nutrients and are a crop used as both grain and vegetable. The stems and leaves are also excellent feed for livestock and excellent fertilizer. Its root system has a strong nitrogen-fixing capacity, which plays a clear role in enriching the soil and ensuring sustained yield increases. But in production, if you want to achieve high yields, you need to focus on several key points. Let's take a look below.

1. Adhere to crop rotation

One important reason why broad bean yields are not high during production is long-term continuous cropping. The longer the continuous cropping on the same land, the smaller the plants, the fewer the branches, the higher the seedling death rate, the higher the frequency of pests and diseases, and the lower the yield and poorer the quality. According to research surveys, the plant growth, yield and quality under continuous cropping on the same land are all inferior to those under rotation. Taking yield alone as an example, after two years of continuous cropping, yield drops by about 13%; after five years of continuous cropping, yield drops by 75%; by contrast, rotation can increase yield by more than 3 times. Therefore, when planting, the crop varieties and planting areas should be balanced, rotation should be carried out as much as possible, and many years of continuous cropping on the same land should be avoided. Generally, rotate once every 2-3 years to improve the soil environment and reduce the harm of broad bean pests and diseases.

2. Sow at the appropriate time

Any crop must be planted at the right time, and broad beans in particular have poor cold resistance, so the sowing time is even stricter. Many farmers are accustomed to sowing too early, in this way aiming to develop good clumps before overwintering and grow enough effective large branches to lay the foundation for a high yield. Sowing too early brings three disadvantages. First, excessive growth before the new year will lead to weaker cold resistance when the broad beans overwinter, causing more severe freeze damage during overwintering and serious yield reduction. Second, aphid damage is severe, which hinders growth and can also cause aphids to infect the plants with viral disease. Third, when yellow sand weather occurs, in the northwest region February to March is the time of the northwest wind, and the wind carries a large amount of dust and sand. When dust and sand fall on broad bean leaves and flowers, it causes poor pollination, resulting in pod failure and large-scale yield reduction. Therefore, the traditional planting habit should be changed, and the sowing time should be appropriately delayed. Generally, sowing 5-7 days after Cold Dew is suitable.

3. Reasonable close planting

When sowing, sow reasonably according to soil fertility and local conditions. If sowing is too dense, the plant's own aeration and light penetration conditions will not only reduce the number of effective branches per unit area, but also inhibit the high-yield performance of effective branches, greatly affecting yield. Therefore, in order to ensure high yields of broad beans, many farmers have the habit of pruning, artificially regulating density, improving field aeration and light penetration, promoting healthy branch growth, and ensuring appropriate density.

4. Increase the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers

Broad beans themselves have limited nitrogen-fixing capacity, so if no fertilizer is applied during production, relying only on their own nitrogen-fixing capacity can only maintain low yields. Therefore, fertilizer should be appropriately increased so that the plants can send out branches early, increase branching, and develop strong branches, thus achieving the goal of high yield. When sowing, sufficient base fertilizer must be applied. Apply 800-1000 kg of high-quality farmyard manure or 25-30 kg of high-quality compound fertilizer per mu to provide what is necessary for its growth. Its own nitrogen-fixing capacity can meet its growth needs, so nitrogen fertilizer application should be controlled to avoid excessive vegetative growth. However, it is more sensitive to phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. If phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are lacking, the plants will be short and branching will be reduced, so when sowing, apply 100-200 kg of plant ash or 20-30 kg of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer per mu, which gives a relatively good yield increase effect.

The above is an introduction to high-yield cultivation techniques for broad beans. We hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.