Winter vs Spring Beans

[cotswoldcs]

We've been growing spring beans for several years now and on our Cotswold Brash only average 1.6t/acre. I'm increasingly fed up with the amount of blackgrass we are getting in this messy crop. I'm thinking of switching to Winter Beans as chemical control is supposedly better. Is this true? Will winter beans reduce the blackgrass problem compared with spring beans?

Over the years we've done well with a human consumption on our beans. What about winter beans; I understand they are less suited to the human consumption market?

Most of our beans are in a Wheat - Beans - Wheat - OSR rotation. Would you be concerned about dropping a spring crop from the rotation?

 

[Bman]

You have a chance to use kerb on winters, and some people get bagging premium on wizard winter beans not sure about this year

 

[Dennis]

Have dropped spring beans as found them to dirty, winters with kerb are better as long as they are thick enough. We find spring barley best for black grass.

 

[Grass And Grain]

We find winer beans more consistent.

Better blw control, as when dry enough to drill springs it is then too dry for herbicide to work.

Drying costs can be higher for springs in a late season.

Will winters reduce the blackgrass problem? Well if you sow them in late October then the bg situation could be better. Sounds like you should be able to get on your soils at that time of year?

 

[Against_the_grain]

Agree with ll the above.
WB means more consistent more herbicide options and still get human consumption of the quality is right. Why anyone grows SB is beyond me

 

[cotswoldcs]

We find winer beans more consistent.
Better blw control, as when dry enough to drill springs it is then too dry for herbicide to work.
Drying costs can be higher for springs in a late season.
Will winters reduce the blackgrass problem? Well if you sow them in late October then the bg situation could be better. Sounds like you should be able to get on your soils at that time of year?

Yes we are lucky to have brashy ground that dries fairly quickly once it stops raining. But therein lies the problem... how do I stop it raining every sodding day in winter?!?

 

[Jim Bullock]

If you can grow 1.6 tons of Spring beans I would stick with them. Our winter beans only managed a ton to the acre last year and cost a fortune to grow.
Kerb in the late autumn along with another pre-em herbicide ( the name escapes me but it cost about £15/acre) come the spring we had to go in with Laser in a vain attempt to control the spring germinating BG ( waste of time) along with Basagran to control the charlock all in a about £70/acre on herbicides and we ended up having to spray the crop off with glyphosate to make it harvestable! In the good old days we used to grow two tons of winter beans with just simazine at £2.50/acre

 

[Grass And Grain]

Just to give you an idea of yield at our place (I know each farm suits different crops differently).

We normally (as an average) would expect 3.5t ww, 2.9t wbarley, 2t wbeans, 1.6t sbeans. So hence prefer winters over spring.

That said, we lost the whole crop to frost in one of those cold winters (2010??) and it was too wet in 2012 to get them in. We did about quarter of an acre, then gave up deciding it was too wet. Good job we stopped as those ones rotted.

Agree with Jim as above that it was easier when simazine was available.

 

[Rob Holmes]

Agree with ll the above.
WB means more consistent more herbicide options and still get human consumption of the quality is right. Why anyone grows SB is beyond me

We're getting 2.5-3t/acre from springs, but they can be a late harvest, will winters do the same but earlier?

 

[Flat 10]

My take is that winters are more consistent but I would think that here springs can yield more than winters but often yield less. I think weed control is more expensive and if beans are your only spring crop I wouldn't change. I like winter beans as growing half the farm in spring cropping anyway. probably for BG springs would be better. In your position I wouldn't change. @Rob Holmes I have never met anyone getting 3t of beans of any sort so I wouldn't change either!

 

[Against_the_grain]

My take is that winters are more consistent but I would think that here springs can yield more than winters but often yield less. I@Rob Holmes I have never met anyone getting 3t of beans of any sort so I wouldn't change either!

I think your right springs could potentially do more BUT ime they tend to yield less. I think about it like winter wheat vs spring wheat in some respects. The winter wheat is established and has a chance to put a decent rooting system down before the dry spring weather comes. Its the same with beans. My winters have already grown a decent root and have 10-15 cm growth already. Your springs are still in the bag.

And by the way if your getting 3t/acre of any type of bean keep doing it. My average on Wbeans last year was 4.2t/Ha. Not bad, not good but as I said in another post in another topic its just part of my rotation

 

[Flat 10]

I conc

I think your right springs could potentially do more BUT ime they tend to yield less. I think about it like winter wheat vs spring wheat in some respects. The winter wheat is established and has a a chance to put a decent rooting system down before the dry spring weather comes. Its the same with beans. My winters have already grown a decent root and have 10-15 cm growth already. Your springs are still in the bag.

And by the way if your getting 3t/acre of any type of bean keep doing it. My average on Wbeans last year was 4.2t/Ha. Not bad, not good but as I said in another post iin another topic its just part of my rotation

I concur with all the above.