A Detailed Guide to the Latest Broad Bean Seed Prices and Planting Methods
Broad bean, also known as luohandou, hudou, lanhuadou and so on, is an annual herbaceous plant of the genus Vicia in the Fabaceae family. It is said that Zhang Qian introduced it to the Central Plains from the Western Regions during the Western Han Dynasty. It is cultivated in all parts of China and is a multipurpose crop used as food, vegetable, feed and green manure, and can also be grown as a honey-source plant. Now let us take a look at broad bean seed prices and planting methods!
How much is a jin of broad bean seeds?
The price of broad bean seeds is about 6 to 8 yuan per jin, but prices vary greatly depending on the variety, quality and market. There are many varieties of broad bean seeds. Generally, large-seeded varieties with strong drought tolerance and later maturity are suitable for dry land planting, with 4000 to 5000 hills per mu and 2 to 3 seeds sown per hill, using 15 to 18 jin of seed per mu. Small-seeded varieties that mature earlier and have strong moisture tolerance are suitable for paddy field planting, with 5000 to 6000 hills per mu and 2 to 3 seeds sown per hill, using 12 to 15 jin of seed per mu. Yields differ among varieties, and also vary with weather and environment. Generally, the yield is 300 to 400 jin per mu, with the highest yield reaching 550 to 580 jin.
Growing conditions for broad beans
Broad bean grows in warm wetlands at 63° north latitude and tolerates low temperatures of ~4℃, but fears heat. Its temperature requirements vary with the growth stage. The suitable temperature for seed germination is 16 to 25℃, the minimum temperature is 3 to 4℃, and the maximum temperature is 30 to 35℃. During the vegetative growth period, the required temperature is lower, with a minimum temperature of 14 to 16℃, while the flowering and pod-setting period requires 16 to 22℃. If low temperatures of ~4℃ occur, the aboveground part will suffer frost damage. Although broad bean can fix nitrogen from the air through rhizobia, it still needs to absorb large amounts of various elements from the soil for its growth, and deficiency of nutrients often causes various physiological diseases.
Sowing methods for broad beans
1. Fine land preparation: Broad bean is a deep-rooted crop. Fine land preparation before sowing can make the soil soft and loose, which is beneficial to root expansion and the formation of root nodules.
2. Inoculation methods: Inoculating with rhizobia before sowing broad beans can increase yield. Inoculation methods include soil inoculation and seed inoculation.
① Soil inoculation: Soil inoculation involves taking about 50 kg of topsoil from land where broad beans were planted the previous year and evenly scattering it in the sowing furrows at sowing time.
② Seed inoculation: Seed inoculation involves diluting rhizobia powder with water at sowing time, then mixing it evenly with the seeds before sowing.
3. Sowing time: The sowing time for broad beans differs among different regions. In southern paddy fields, sowing should be done promptly after the rice harvest; along the Yangtze River, it is between Cold Dew and Frost's Descent; in the double-cropping rice areas of South China, it is around Minor Snow; and in the north, it is sown promptly after the spring thaw.
4. Sowing density: The sowing density of broad beans should be determined according to actual conditions. It should be thinner when harvesting grains than when growing them for green feed or green manure. Varieties with a long growth period, tall plants and many branches should be thinner than those with a short growth period and short plants. It should be denser on soil with low fertility and under low fertilization levels.
Planting methods for broad beans
1. Seedling-stage management: During the seedling stage of broad beans, water should be controlled or irrigated according to the seedling condition to achieve sturdy and compact strong seedlings, ensuring uniform and strong seedlings. In sticky clay bean fields, cover with straw promptly after sowing to preserve warmth and moisture.
2. Mid-stage management: Do a good job in forecasting and reporting diseases, insects, rodents and weeds, control their damage in time, manage water well, carry out branch pruning and thinning in the field, and pull out weak and diseased plants to ensure healthy growth of the population.
3. Late-stage management: Ensure the water demand during the grain-filling period and keep soil moisture at 20 to 25%. If it is below 18 to 20%, irrigation is required. For high-yield fields and late-maturing fields, top and pinch the growing tips at the end of flowering and the tip-spreading stage to improve ventilation and light penetration, increase grain weight and promote early maturity.
4. Reasonable fertilization: After sowing broad beans, cover with 1500 to 2000 kg per mu of high-quality barnyard manure or an appropriate amount of rice straw. At the 2.5 to 3 leaf stage of the bean seedlings, apply 30 kg per mu of superphosphate and 10 to 15 kg per mu of potassium sulfate.
5. Drought and waterlogging prevention: Broad beans fear both drought and waterlogging. If field drainage is poor, root development is poor and damping-off and rust are likely to occur. If drought occurs, especially during the flowering and pod-setting period, the impact on yield is even more serious. Timely drainage and irrigation should be carried out according to growth needs.
6. Timely harvest: Broad beans mature starting from the lower pods. If harvesting green beans for use as a vegetable, they can be harvested 3 to 4 times from bottom to top. If harvesting mature dry grains, harvest all at once when the middle and lower pods of most plants have turned black.
Pest and disease control for broad beans
1. Broad bean damping-off
[Damage] Broad beans can develop the disease at all growth stages, but it is more severe during the tender pod stage. It mainly infects the stem base or underground parts of broad beans and also damages seeds. When the stem base is infected, black lesions often appear on one side of the stem or around the stem, causing the stem to turn black.
[Control] At the early stage of the disease, spray 500 solution of 58% metalaxyl-mancozeb wettable powder, or 600 to 700 solution of 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder, or 800 to 1000 times dilution of 21% imidacloprid-manganese carbendazim wettable powder, or 1100 to 1200 solution of 20% tolclofos-methyl emulsifiable concentrate, etc.
2. Broad bean chocolate spot
[Damage] Reddish spots first appear on the leaves, then gradually expand into round or oval lesions. In severe cases, all parts turn black and withered, and black sclerotia appear on the inner wall of the stems.
[Control] Spray Bordeaux mixture at 1:2:100 at the early stage of the disease, then spray 500 times dilution of 50% carbendazim once every 10 days for 2 to 3 consecutive sprays. Spraying Bordeaux mixture at the early stage is better than spraying carbendazim.
3. Broad bean rust
[Damage] Rust spots appear on the leaves until the leaves dry up. In severe cases, the entire plant withers and dies.
[Control] Mix 50 g of 15% triadimefon with 50 to 60 kg of water and spray, using 40 to 60 kg of spray liquid per mu. About 20 days after application, spray once more.
4. Broad bean Fusarium wilt
[Damage] Fusarium wilt mainly causes the roots to turn black, with short main roots and few lateral roots, yellowing leaf color, a wilting appearance of the plant, and drooping stems and leaves at the top.
[Control] At the early stage of the disease, pour 500 times dilution of 50% thiophanate-methyl on the roots, applying 2 to 3 times, which has a good control effect.
5. American serpentine leafminer
[Damage] The American serpentine leafminer feeds on green tissue as larvae, creating irregular grayish-white linear tunnels. When the damage is severe, almost all leaf tissue is affected, and the leaves are covered with feeding tunnels and may even wither and die.
[Control] To control the larvae, apply several times consecutively, once every 5 to 6 days, using 500 times dilution of “Banqianjing”, or 800 times dilution of “Aweidu”, or 1000 times dilution of 40% “omethoate” emulsifiable concentrate, etc.