Beans feel the pressure of disease and pod set

摘要

The very low numbers of pods set on many of this year's winter bean crops are due to a combination of factors, both seasonal and agronomic, says Becky Ward, PGRO's principal technical officer. Early drilling at high seed rates, followed by cool, cloudy conditions with plenty of rainfall, mean that crops are very tall and dense, she explains. "Much of the growth has gone into the stem and foliage, rather than pod set," she says. "Crops are too thick, light hasn't been able to penetrate the over-thickcanopies very well and we've had higher rainfall levels than normal, which has kept them growing."