Everything you need to know about Indian bean cultivation, production and growth. Learn about:- 1. Introduction to Indian Bean 2. Composition and Uses of Indian Bean 3. Climate and Soil Required for Cultivation 4. Sowing Time 5. Manurial Requirement for Cultivation 6. Irrigation Requirement for Cultivation 7. Intercultural Operations 8. Harvesting and Yielding 9. Cultivated Varieties.
Contents:
- Introduction to Indian Bean
- Composition and Uses of Indian Bean
- Climate and Soil Required for Cultivating Indian Bean
- Sowing Time of Indian Bean Seeds
- Manurial Requirement for Indian Bean Cultivation
- Irrigation Requirement for Indian Bean Cultivation
- Intercultural Operations of Indian Bean
- Harvesting and Yielding of Indian Bean
- Cultivated Varieties of Indian Bean
1. Introduction
to Indian Bean:
Indian bean is believed to have originated in India as a large number of indigenous strains are available in northern India from where it was introduced to China and West Asia, and from Southeast Asia, it was introduced to Africa during eighteenth century. Presently, Indian bean is commonly grown in Africa, extending from Cameroon to Swaziland and Zimbabwe, through Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Lablab purpureus previously classified as Dolichos lablab L. is commonly known as Indian bean, hyacinth bean, lablab bean, country bean, Egyptian bean, Tonga bean, field bean, or Sem in Hindi. This multiplicity of names is indicative of the range of forms available globally and the fact that it has long been cultivated for human food and as a green manure. Dolichos is a Greek word meaning long pod and lablab is an Arabic or Egyptian word meaning dull rattle of the seed inside the dry pod. It is grown throughout tropical regions of the world including Asia, Africa, and Americas.
In India, the important growing states are Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Indian bean propagated through seeds is an herbaceous perennial but usually grown as an annual. The crop is largely grown for its green pods but in some states it is grown for its dry seeds used as pulse.
Two types of Indian bean are recognized- the first type is Lablab purpureus var. typicus, which is a garden type with soft edible pods having less fiber in their pod walls, and the second type is Lablab purpureus var. lignosus, which is a field bean grown for dry seeds generally used as a pulse. Its pods have a characteristic aroma and the pod walls high fiber content.
2. Composition and Uses of Indian Bean:
Composition:
Indian bean is an important source of proteins, minerals, and dietary fibers. Its mature dark colored seeds contain trypsin inhibitor, which broken down into water-soluble cyanogenic glucoside. The purple colored pods have a strong flavour, which is disappeared after cooking. The nutritional composition of edible green pods is given in Table 4.1.
Uses:
Indian bean is primarily grown for its green pods that are consumed as cooked or fried vegetable. The young tender leaves are used in salads and the older leaves are cooked as vegetable like spinach. Its immature seeds are also consumed after cooking or frying. However, the mature dry seeds are consumed after properly boiling and draining out the water used for cooking since they contain cyanogenic glucosides, which are very toxic to living beings. Besides its cultivation as vegetable crop, it is also cultivated as a green manure and fodder crop.
3. Climate and Soil Required for Cultivating Indian Bean
:
Indian bean is a cool season crop that responds to photoperiod so the varieties suitable for cultivation under long day and short day conditions are different, however, some photo-insensitive varieties like Arka Jay and Arka Vijay that can be grown throughout the year are also available. Indian bean is well adapted to tropical and sub-tropical climates, thus, the area of its distribution ranges from sea level to an altitude of 2000 m above mean sea level.
High temperature and high humidity favour its plant growth but fruiting starts with the onset of winters when the temperature and humidity become mild, and remains continued throughout spring. There are some drought tolerant strains, which can successfully be grown as a dry land crop in regions with 630-890 mm annual rainfall.
Indian bean can be grown on a wide range of soils with average fertility but soils with a pH range of 5.3-6.0 are best suitable since germination is delayed and reduced significantly when the salinity level goes above 4.0 mmhos cm-1. Hyacinth bean seeds tolerate the effluents of electroplating factory up to the level of 2.5% but further increase in affluent concentration delayed the germination of seeds.
4. Sowing Time
of Indian Bean Seeds:
Indian bean is relatively a cool season crop, thus, in northern parts of India, the seeds are sown in June-July, while in southern India in July-August. In kitchen gardens, it can be retained as a perennial crop though the pod bearing capacity is reduced in second season. In southern and central India, it is usually grown as a mixed crop with ragi or sorghum.
The seed rate of Indian bean varies with the varieties, depending upon their growth habit. For climbing type varieties about 10-12 kg seed is enough for the sowing of one hectare of land area, whereas, for bushy types 20-30 kg per hectare seed is required.
Sowing is usually done manually by dibbling using single row hand planter or by seed drill. Generally, three to four seeds are drilled per hill, and later thinning is done leaving only two healthy and vigorous seedlings per hill. Depth of seed placement varies from 2.5 to 5.0 cm, depending on size of seed, soil types and climatic conditions. This method is adopted both for flatbed sowing and also for crop grown on trellis.
For a pure crop, the row-to-row spacing is maintained from 1.0 to 1.5 m and plant to plant from 60 to 75 cm, however, in mixed crop, the row-to-row spacing is kept 1 m between ragi and sorghum rows. Ragi or sorghum tops are harvested first leaving the stalks for providing support to the vines of Indian bean. The vines continue to grow and flower in November-December giving a continuous crop of green pods throughout winter and spring.
Singh and Pandita (1980) observed that the number and weight of pods per plant increased significantly with the increase in spacing, and recorded the highest yield of 172.29 q/ha at a plant spacing of 150 × 60 cm when one plant per hill was retained and stacked 2-3 weeks after sowing, however, Reddy et al. (1991) obtained highest pod yield of 89.74 q/ha with a population density of 2,22,222 plants per hectare at 45 × 10 cm spacing.
5. Manurial Requirement
for Indian Bean Cultivation:
Although Indian bean is a leguminous crop but it responds well to the application of fertilizers, thus, supply of appropriate dose of fertilizers not only boosts up the pod yield but also improves the quality of edible green pods in terms of protein and vitamin C content. As per the general recommendation, a well rotten farmyard manure of 25 t/ha is incorporated into the soil at the time of field preparation and mixed thoroughly by ploughing the field repeatedly.
In addition, this crop needs nitrogen 20 kg, phosphorus 60 kg and potash 60 kg/ha to give satisfactory yield. Half dose of the nitrogen along with the entire dose of phosphorus and potash is applied in lines about 7-8 cm apart and slightly deeper to the seed at the time of sowing, and the remainder of nitrogen is applied as top dressing about 30 days after seed sowing.
The fertilizer doses in general vary from region to region owing to soil heterogeneity and variations in climatic conditions. In Haryana, Yadav and Pandita (1981) recorded highest green pod yield of Indian bean cv. HD 18 with the application of nitrogen 32 kg and phosphorus 62 kg/ha. In eastern Vidarbha zone, the maximum green pod yield of 142.2 q/ha was obtained with nitrogen 75 kg and phosphorus 150 kg/ha, however, the maximum benefit: cost ratio (2.84 : 1) was recovered with the application of nitrogen 25 kg and phosphorus 50 kg/ha.
According to Desai et al. (1995), a combination of nitrogen 100 kg and phosphorus 50 kg/ha produced the highest green pod yield of 92.7 q/ha in Wakawali region of Maharashtra state.
Varieties also respond differently to the varying levels of fertilizers. The green pod yield of Indian bean cv. Sel.-l increased from 187.7% with phosphorus 20.20 kg/ha to 210.44% with 34.93 kg P2O5/ha and 594.03 to 614.05% of cultivar Sel.-2 with the same level of phosphorus application compared with the control. Jadhav et al. (1996) reported increased green pod yield of variety Konkan Bhushan up to 100 kg P2O5/ha, however, the trend was reversed with additional application of phosphorus.
Application of sulfur, especially in soils deficient in sulfur, had indirect effect on root nodulation and nitrogen fixation possibly by improving sugar supply and nitrogen metabolism, however, application of molybdenum had no effect on plant growth but interacted significantly with sulfur for improving total sugars. In soils where Indian bean is being grown for the first time, seed treatment (inoculation) with Rhizobium culture helps in quick root nodulation, which fixes atmospheric nitrogen into the soil.
6. Irrigation Requirement
for Indian Bean Cultivation:
Indian bean being drought hardy crop can be grown as a dry land crop in areas of low rainfall but for getting higher yield of better quality produce application of light irrigation at frequent interval is must. Flowering and pod development are the critical stages of crop for applying irrigation, thus, it is important to keep maintain available soil moisture 50% above field capacity during flowering and pod development.
Depending on the climatic conditions, two to three irrigations may be sufficient in water deficit areas, however, to obtain higher yield the irrigation should be applied regularly at an interval of 7-10 days. Frequency of irrigation in general depends on many factors, like climate, season, depth, type of soil, and organic matter content of soil. In clay loam soils, irrigation at 25 mm CPE (Cumulative Pan Evaporation) gave the highest pod yield of 73.6 quintal per hectare, however, the water-use efficiency decreases with the increasing irrigation frequency.
7. Intercultural Operations
of Indian Bean:
Weeds in Indian bean may pose problem at early stages so should be controlled either manually or mechanically but controlling weeds manually is usually uneconomical and time consuming. In spite of this, inter-cultivation at least once is essential to make the soil loose around the plants and to check weeds, especially at initial stages. Loosening of soil around the root system increases nitrogen-fixing capacity by improving aeration into the soil.
Chemical weed control is very effective, economical, and time saving. Application of pendymethylin (Stomp) @ 2.0-2.5 liters per hectare checks the weed growth for 20-25 days. At later stages, the weeds are kept under check by the crop itself due to smothering effect of thick foliage canopy. Weedicides are applied onto the soil surface by spraying after sowing crop seeds but before the emergence of weeds.
Sufficient moisture in soil at the time of weedicides application ensures their effectiveness.
Mulching is a useful method of controlling weeds and conserving moisture for longer time. Use of various types of mulch not only controls the weeds and conserves moisture but also regulates soil temperature and improves pod quality, especially of bush types. Normally, the crop residues are used as a mulching material but polyethylene sheets of different colour shades are also useful for the purpose.
Stacking is an important operation, especially in pole type varieties, to produce higher yield of better quality pods as a result of proper plant spread, better photosynthetic activity and avoidance of pod contact with moist soil since providing support per unit area more number of plants can be adjusted. Stacking improves yield by increasing number of pods per plant since over-crowding of plant vines due to non-stacking influences the formation of pods and yield adversely.
8. Harvesting
and Yielding of Indian Bean:
The pods are harvested when they are green, tender, succulent, and before they become fibrous. If harvesting is delayed, the seeds grow large and the pods bulge around the seeds. Although the total yield increases with the delay in harvesting but quality of pods deteriorates rapidly. The mature pod stage is reached 20-25 days after anthesis. In bush type varieties, the crop is ready for harvest two months after sowing and pole type varieties take three months for the first harvest.
The maturity index is determined by pod weight, which in turn is determined by pod breadth. Pods are harvested manually by hands at 7 days interval. In pole types, a total of 9-10 pickings and in bush types 2-3 pickings are possible. Picking should be done either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Otherwise, pre-cooling is required to improve post-harvest shelf life of pods.
The yield normally depends on many factors, like variety used, season, climate, depth, type and fertility of soil, and irrigation facility. However, on an average 50-80 quintal yield of green pods per hectare is obtained.
The produce before sending to the market is to be graded to make it more attractive and acceptable. Grading involves removal of underdeveloped, over-mature, insect-damaged and disease-infected pods. The pods after grading are packed in baskets, cardboard boxes, or gunny bags for marketing. Packing in 100 gauge polyethylene bags with 18-36 vents improves keeping quality of pods considerably.
9. Cultivated Varieties
of Indian Bean:
Regional preferences play a predominant role in the choice of variety for cultivation. Green podded varieties are more popular in south and north India, whereas, white podded varieties are preferred in eastern parts of India. In eastern Vidharbha zone, mostly pole type varieties having a longer growing season are grown.
Based on growth habit, the varieties can be classified into two groups: bushy field varieties and twining pole garden varieties. Many varieties having green, white, and purple pods have been recommended for cultivation.
The descriptions of some important improved varieties released by various institutes are as follows:
A pole type early maturing variety developed at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi bears medium size without string thin pods in bunches. It is suitable for cultivation in both spring- summer and rainy season. The average green pod yield is 60 and 75 q/ha in western and southern regions of India, respectively.
A pole-type high yielding variety developed at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi bears dark green semi-round string less long pods. Flowers appear on separate spikes above the plant canopy. It is tolerant to viruses and pod borer, and recommended for sowing in June-July in north India. The green pod yield varies from 150 to 180 q/ha.
A pole-type high yielding variety developed at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi bears green, meaty, very tender, and flat pods without string. Flowers appear on nodes above the plant canopy. It is tolerant to viruses, and recommended for sowing in June-July. The green pod yield varies from 170 to 180 q/ha.
A photo-insensitive bush type variety developed at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore is tolerant to heat and drought both. The pods are excellent in cooking quality. It takes 75 days to reach marketable maturity and gives an average green pod yield of 80-86 q/ha.
A dual-purpose bush type variety developed at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore is tolerant to heat and drought both. It takes 75 days to reach marketable maturity and gives an average green pod yield of 80-86 q/ha.
A dwarf bushy cultivar developed at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore takes 45 days to flowering and another 20 days to reach marketable pod maturity. Its average green pod yield is 125 and 136 q/ha in western and southern regions of India, respectively. It is found suitable for cultivation particularly in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and western parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
A dwarf and bushy type variety developed at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore takes 45 days to flowering and another 20 days to reach marketable maturity. It is also suitable for cultivation in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and western parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan, and gives an average green pod yield of 150 and 160 q/ha in western and southern regions of India, respectively.
A dual-purpose photo-insensitive bush type variety bears tender green tubular pods without string. Its average green pod yield is 80 quintals per hectare.
Its plants are compact and give first picking possibly 60 days after sowing, and an average green pod yield of 60 quintals per hectare in five pickings.