String beans

Common name: Common beans, Green beans, Pole beans, Snap beans
Scientific name: Phaseolus vulgaris
Family: Fabaceae

Growth stages	Pests  For weeds and diseases please see further down on this page. For rodents, snails and slugs please click here
Seed
Sown seeds	Ants
Seedling Stage
Stem	Bean fly Cutworm Seedcorn maggot
Vegetative Stage
Stems	Bean fly Corn stalk borer
Leaves	Aphids Armyworm Cabbage looper Corn earworm Leaf miner Spider mites Thrips Whitefly
Reproductive Stage
Flowers	Aphids Armyworm Corn earworm Leaf miner Spider mites Thrips Whitefly
Maturation stage
Pods, Beans	Armyworm Cabbage looper Corn earworm Lygus bugs Stink bug

Weeds

Grasses
Sedges
Broadleaf

Diseases

Fungal
Bacterial
Viral

Agro-ecology

String beans are harvested as snap (bush) or green (pole or climbers) beans. Bush beans are non-climbing plants while pole beans are staked, trained, and or with trellis. Root rot organisms and bacterial diseases often build-up in soil when snap beans are planted repeatedly in the same field. Crop rotation is necessary to limit disease. Corn and other small grains are good rotation crops (Larson; Mossler; Nesheim, 1997).

Fields should be well-aerated and well-drained. Populations of pathogens and pests build-up quickly, in poorly drained soil. Practice shallow tillage prior to flowering to prevent damage to roots and plant collars. Damaged ground plant parts encourage soil borne diseases (Pernezny, 1997).

To control white mold, the planting distance of snap beans should be closer in between rows and wider spacing in between hills (Hochmuth; Cordasco, 1997).

Plant seeds that are found to be resistant to soil borne pathogens. Healthy plants are less likely to be affected by diseases and attacked by pests. Excess N levels make the plants susceptible to bacterial disease and lack of soil nutrients make the plants susceptible to Alternaria leaf spot. When diseases are observed in the field, workers should not move within fields when plants are wet. Disease organisms spread relatively fast when there is moisture on the leaves (Pernezny, 1997).

OISAT Field Guides

Field Guide to Non- chemical Pest Management in String bean Production download (762 kb)

External links

• ICARDA. Field guide to lentil diseases and insect pests. http://www.icarda.cgiar.org/Publications/Field_Guides/Lentil/Lentil.Html
• University of California. How to manage pests: Dry beans. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/selectnewpest.beans.html#ABOUT
• Purdue University. Peas and beans. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/rhodcv/hort410/peas/peas.htm
• CGIAR. Phaseolus bean. http://www.cgiar.org/impact/research/beans.html

References

• CABI. (2000): Crop protection compendium. Global module, 2nd edition. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK.
• Hochmuth, G.; Cordasco, K. (1997): A Summary of N, P, and K Research with Snapbean in Florida. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. University of Florida http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/CV/CV23400.pdf
• Hodges, L. (1997): Basic cultural practices for commercial production of green (Snap) beans. Extension Vegetable Specialist, Cooperative Extension. University of Nebraska.
• Larson, B.; Mossler, M.; & Nesheim, ON. (1997): Florida Crop/Pest Management Profiles: Snap Beans. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. University of Florida http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/PI/PI03200.pdf
• Pernezny, K. (1997): Disease Control for Florida Snap Beans. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. University of Florida http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_VH055