Winter bean seed rate

[Banana Bar]

What number of plants are you aiming to have established in the spring?

 

[Clive]

It’s not a science imo - we just drill 250kgs

Have had good good results from tick populations and thin ! Not a lot of logic I know !

 

[Banana Bar]

I’m being told between 155kg and 210 kg! You’re right not scientific!

 

[juke]

30 seeds with tundra , our hss tgw is 630. Neighbours seed 710 tgw and 550 at another so theres the variation in kgs/ha all trying to achieve the same seeds/meter

 

[Brisel]

You want around 25 plants/m2 in spring, so work back from that. What really forces seed rates up is the low germination rates of seed this autumn. Bruchid, splitting etc have all lowered the germ % this year. Don't forget that you'll smash some more as you handle the seed and blow it through a pneumatic drill at high fan speed too. Add a few extra for the rooks and you're at a steep seed rate!

25 plants based on 75% germination = 33 seeds/m2. 75% establishment rate puts that up to 44 seeds/m2.

The 50% establishment is a factor of 25% reduction due to germ and 25% loss in establishment.

 

[Clive]

I’m being told between 155kg and 210 kg! You’re right not scientific!

thick is the only way to keep weeds out I find

and weeds hit yields more than anything else as not many good in crop options left

250kgs seems to have worked fairly consistently for us a few years - we even grew some last year with no herbicide at all (not even glyphosate)

 

[Andrew K]

Andrew,
winter beans yield well as long as they are evenly spaced, so seedrate is relatively flexible according to conditions IMO.
You can have them too thick, causing disease and lodging probs so I have found 25 to 30 per metre adequate as an established population.
We have found the Claydon front tine wants setting shallower than the rear coulter point to reduce smearing in poor going, on light soils remove it altogether.
Different varieties offer quite a bit of variation opportunity in seedrate if you compare TGW.

www.winter-beans.co.uk

 

[Barleymow]

ime aiming to spread 3cwt/acre then plough them in ,will aim to do that with 5th jan as my latest date ,xmas week timing did well in 2009

 

[goodevans]

ime aiming to spread 3cwt/acre then plough them in ,will aim to do that with 5th jan as my latest date ,xmas week timing did well in 2009

I've known harvest yields less than that!

 

[Clive]

Why do people still plough beans in ?

post simazine ban is there any good reason to put them in so deep ?

 

[Brisel]

Only to keep them deep enough that rooks can't pull them up.

Edited to add: They also need to be deep enough that residual herbicides don't harm them.

 

[goodevans]

I've known harvest yields less than that!

I didn't say mine

 

[Clive]

Only to keep them deep enough that rooks can't pull them up.

going to take a lot of rooks to pul up 250 kgs of seed per ha I reckon - if the problem is that bad I would suggest a good cull is in order?

 

[Steevo]

It’s not a science imo - we just drill 250kgs

Have had good good results from tick populations and thin ! Not a lot of logic I know !

This is my standard rate too.

Do likewise for wheat now - start at 200kgs, now on 250kgs.