Package of Practices of FRENCH BEAN/RAJMAH
French bean is an important bean and is widely grown all over the country for
excellent vegetable both in the form of young pods and dried seeds. It grows best under
moderate weather conditions. Moreover, it can grow in summer where the day temperature
does not exceed 35'C. It can emerge as a profitable crop for the farmers of Meghalaya,
especially in some parts of West Khasi hills, East Khasi hills and Ri-Bhoi district. The
possibility of growing the crop round the year cannot be ignored, even. The requirements for
a good crop harvest of French bean are as follows
Soil: Light sandy loam soil with pH 5.5 is best suited for its cultivation. But it cannot
withstand alkalinity to even a mild degree.
Preparation of Soil: Plough the land about 25 cm deep, break clods and remove the weeds
and then leave it for aeration for about 2 weeks.
Varieties: Varieties found suitable for cultivation in Meghalaya are as follows
Variety Maturity (Days)
Bush Type
Contender 65-75
Meghalaya Local 70-75
Tripura Sel-1 80-90
Pole Type
Meghalaya Local 85-90
Seed Treatment: Treat seeds in Bavistin @ 2g/Kg seeds for 24 hours before sowing
Seed Rate: Bush type: 60-65 Kg/ha. Pole type: 25-30 Kg/ha.
Sowing Time: February- March (Lowland) and August-September (Upland)
Sowing of Seed: Seeds are sown by hand dibbling. A spacing of 40 x 1S cm for bush type
and 90 x 15 cm for pole type may be maintained. Seeds germinate in 3-4 days after sowing
and plants flower in 4 weeks and pods are ready for picking 10-15 after flowering. Staking of
pole type varieties is necessary to get more and quality yield. The erop can be profitably
intercropped with maize, soybean, groundnut.
Manures and Fertilizers:
FYM : 10 t/ha.
DAP :70 kg/ha
MOP :30 kg/ha
Full dose of FYM,MOP and half dose of DAP should be applied at the time of seed sowing
and remaining half dose of DAP at the time of flowering.
Weed control: Suppression of weed through cultural practices is saf and involves low
inputs.
Harvesting: The first crop of the green pods becomes ready for harvest within 2 months
from sowing. Pick the pods by hand before they are fully grown.
Yield:
Bush type: 40-50 q/ha
Pole type: 70-80 q/ha
Diseases and Their Management
Anthracnose:
Symptoms: Black sunken cankers with light coloured or gray centers
Munagement:
a) Use disease free seeds
b) Treat the seeds with Bavistin 2 g/Kg seed.
c) In the infected field, spray Bavistin @ 50g/100L water at 8-10 days interval.
Rhizoctonia Blight
Symptoms:Formation of sunken reddish brown lesions on stem near the soil line
Management:
a) Treat the seeds with Bavistin @ 2 g/Kg seed.
b) In the infected field spray Bavistin (@ 50g/100L water.
Angular Leaf Spot
Symptoms: Reddish brown angular lesions appcar on leaves.
Management:
a) Use disease free seeds
b) In the infected field spray Bavistin (@ 50g/100L water at 8-10 days interval.
Pests and their management
Mites
Symptoms: Sucks sap from tender leaves and leaves dries up.
Management:
a) Spray malathion 0.05% (100ml malathion 50EC/100 L water).
Blister Beetles
Symptomns: Feeds on flowers resulting poor fruit setting.
Managenment:
a) Spray malathion 0.05% (100 ml malathion 50 EC/100 L water),
