When the year starts early and starts dry, producers and researchers alike get pretty excited about the year ahead for edible beans.
That was the story for the Ontario crop until July, when torrential and frequent rainfall began over much of the growing region and continued through August.
The result, explains University of Guelph associate professor Chris Gillard, was water-logged, root-rot plagued beans that yellowed and struggled towards the finish line (some are still struggling).
“Some guys tried some mid-season nitrogen fertilizer, and it can have an impact, but this is a short season crop, it doesn’t have a long time to really respond to nitrogen fertilizer. And of course, if you put too much on, you damage nodulation, and so the crop suffers later from that,” Gillard says in this episode of the Edible Bean School.
White mould is the number one production limiting disease for this crop, and early fungicide applications paid dividends this year, he says.
Other disease challenges, including anthracnose, are still a concern, but Gillard says so much progress has been made through improved seed selection and seed protection.
For the full-season disease recap, tap below to watch Gillard and Bern Tobin:
Check out more Edible Bean School videos here
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