A Kent farmer has achieved a 9t/ha winter bean crop, in an era where UK winter field bean yields range from a low of 3.7t to highs of 4.9t/ha.
In 2024, Kent grower Richard Budd averaged a winter bean yield of over 6t/ha, with some fields achieving more than 9t/ha.
These fields generated a higher gross margin compared to the Tonbridge-based farm's winter wheat crop.
A gross margin of £1,170/t on a 9t/ha crop, and £780/t on 6t/ha, demonstrates that, if grown well, beans can be a lucrative break crop.
Mr Budd, who farms over 1,600ha, has been awarded ADAS YEN trophies for his wheat, oilseed rape and beans over recent years.
His 2023/4 bean crop - 200ha of Vesper – benefited from his non-negotiables: no compaction, minimal weed competition and good disease control
"Beans hate compaction, so we subsoil before drilling at 45 seeds/m2, adjusted for germination rates," he explains.
"The bean seeds were big with a good thousand grain weight, which is known to make a difference to yield.
"We applied Kerb (propyzamide) and Nirvana, pre-emergence, to give residual grassweed control.”
Mr Budd notes that at their peak, his beans reached over 8ft tall, with up to 50 stems/m and 55 pods/plant.
While last year’s spring was detrimental to many crops’ development, the cooler, wetter weather meant good flowering and pod set conditions.
Any tell tail senescence in July indicates one of two issues Mr Budd says - a heat wave or a chocolate spot infection.
He explains: “It doesn’t matter which crop you look at in the YEN competition, the longer you can keep them green, the bigger the yields. Beans are no different.
"I aim to keep them green until mid-July for harvest in late August or early September.
“When chocolate spot gets going it can be very aggressive, and it is the number one disease for yield loss.
"We mainly use tebuconazole and Signum, both are protectant, so we keep an eye on disease levels and maintain spray intervals.”
Iain Ford, BASF’s business development manager, explains that the farm's seedbed preparation is key to the herbicide’s performance.
“Getting the most out of Nirvana is largely about timing applications within 24 hours of drilling into fine, firm seedbeds to ensure even herbicide coverage and good crop safety.”
He adds that Signum is widely recognised as being the most effective product for controlling chocolate spot and contributes to keeping crops green in several ways.
“Applications at early flowering, repeated at mid to late flowering, protects beans through those important growth stages," he explains.
Ultimately, Mr Budd says growing high yielding bean crops is about mindset: “I believe that break crops must contribute as much as possible to the rotation, they aren’t there just to give us good wheat crops."
He concludes: "Last year’s results weren’t a complete fluke. The weather certainly helped but we worked hard to get the basics in place.”
