Beans

BY : WINNIE
Beans are belongs to the group of legumes, they are edible and are an important source of protein in Kenya. They are grown in all for their dry seeds and green pods. They can be intercropped with other crops like maize and cassava.

Ecological requirement.
Beans are grown on a wide range of soil but they do best in well draining loam soils which are rich in organic matter. Good drainage is very important as beans will not tolerate water logged soil. They require moist soil throughout the growing period and do well in moderate rainfall.

Varieties.
Some of the common varieties in Kenya include Wairimu, Rose coco,Gifamu and Muikaria Thi. They are used for both domestic and export.

Selection and preparation of planting materials.
Beans are established from seeds. The seed should be dried before they are planted. Seed selection should be done to discard the damaged and wrinkled ones. They should be dressed with appropriate chemicals to control soil born pest and planted immediately.

Land preparation.
A bean has large seed and therefore do not need a fine seedbed. Any seedbed suitable for maize is also for been .Primary cultivation and one secondary cultivation is enough.
Beans should be planted at the onset of the rain except during the long rain, when planting may be delayed to avoid rotting of the crop before harvesting. Planting is done placing 2 or 3 seeds. Planting can be done in furrows. Ammonium phosphate should be applied at a rate of 200kg per hectare along the furrow.
The field should be kept clean by shallow weeding .Weeding should be done before the flowering to avoid knocking down flowers. Weeding is done when is dry to avoid spreading diseases.

Irrigation.
Beans for green pods production are grown during the dry month of [DEC] they need about 50ml of water per week.

Pest and diseases control
For beans to produce high quality seeds, pest should be controlled .Some of pest controlled include beans aphid and been bruchid.They can be controlled by spraying the crop with various insecticide such as ‘‘Diazion’’. There are many diseases that attack beans, and causes great loss in production. Some of them include; been rust and leaf sport.

Harvesting.
Seeds are harvested by uprooting dry seed .Uprooting should be done in the morning when it’s cold. The stalks should be allowed to dry on mat. Sorting should be done after winnowing to remove damaged seed. Dry seed are steered with appropriate pesticide and packed in bags. For green beans they are left for only 9 weeks. Picking is done when the weather is dry. And pod sorting out according to size.

challenges
When rain is of high rage the been production is very low .And also when pest and diseases are not controlled. The main one is poor market.