Increasing the viability of heirloom dry bean production in the Northeast: Part II

View the project final report

• 2016 annual report

Commodities

• Agronomic: general grain crops

Practices

• Crop Production: biological inoculants
• Pest Management: biological control, integrated pest management, prevention
• Production Systems: general crop production

Dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), a high-protein pulse crop, have been grown in the Northeast since the 1800’s. Currently the demand for heirloom dry beans has exceeded the supply. Although white cooking beans have been successfully grown in the Northeast for generations, heirloom dry beans including Jacob’s Cattle and Vermont Cranberry, are more challenging to grow locally. Local farmers have struggled to obtain consistent high yields and quality. Their primary issues include quality seed acquisition, stand establishment, disease, and reaching proper maturity at harvest. Development of regionally adapted production practices will assist farmers with producing heirloom dry beans a high value crop for the Northeast. In 2015, our team was awarded a Partnership grant titled “Increasing the Viability of Heirloom Dry Bean Production in the Northeast” (ONE15-234), which we are resubmitting in order to collect a second year of data. Our project is focused on key agronomics that can quickly help farmers improve the yields and quality of heirloom dry beans. The objectives are to: 1. Screen heirloom varietals and develop a list of top performing lines for the region; 2. Develop optimum planting dates and seeding strategies to obtain adequate plant populations; 3. Determine primary pest issues and identify control options; 4. Evaluate biological seed treatments for control of early season diseases. These practices will be developed through on- farm research and delivered to farmers through an extensive outreach program. The outreach materials will be delivered via bulletins, video, web-based resources, and outreach events.

The question we wish to answer is will the development and delivery of regionally specific and critical agronomic information for heirloom dry beans help growers improve yield and quality?

Local farmers have struggled to obtain consistent high yields and quality. Their primary issues include quality seed acquisition; stand establishment, disease control, and reaching proper maturity at harvest. In 2015, our team was awarded a Partnership grant titled “Increasing the Viability of Heirloom Dry Bean Production in the Northeast” (ONE15-234), which we are resubmitting in order to collect a second year of data. Our project is focused on key agronomics that can quickly help farmers improve the yields and quality of heirloom dry beans. The objectives of this project are to:

1.Screen heirloom varietals and develop a list of top performing lines for the region;

2.Develop optimum planting dates and seeding strategies to obtain adequate plant populations;

3.Determine primary pest issues and identify control options;

4.Evaluate biological seed treatments for control of early season diseases.

These practices will be developed through on- farm research and delivered to farmers through an extensive outreach program. The outreach materials will be delivered via guides, videos, web-based resources, and outreach events.

The proposed project will provide a second year of data collection on the Partnership Grant titled “Increasing the Viability of Heirloom Dry Bean Production in the Northeast”. Slight improvements will be made to the previous experiments to gain additional information sought by the bean growing community.

Variety Trials

Our goal is to identify regionally-adapted heirloom dry bean genotypes that offer an optimal combination of early vigor, disease resistance, weed competitiveness, yield and quality—characteristics that serve at the foundation of growers’ management strategies. We will meet this goal by conducting an heirloom dry bean variety trial at Morningstar Meadow and Borderview Farm. Varieties will include up to 18 heirloom dry bean varieties. The experimental design will be a randomized complete block with split plots and four replications. Plot size will be 10’ x 20’ with beans planted in a 30” row spacing configuration. Main plots will consist of heirloom dry bean varieties and the split plot treatments will be seed treatment with or without T22 (Trichoderma harzianum Rifai strain T-22). Plots will be seeded with a corn planter at the recommended rate for each class of bean. The trial areas will be tine-weeded once before seeding emergence and again after the first two true leaves are present. The date of plant emergence and populations will be recorded. During the growing season, flowering date, pod number, and the number of days to physiological maturity will be measured. In addition, plant growth habits and disease incidence will be monitored and recorded. The UVM Plant Diagnostic Laboratory will assist with the identification of disease issues noted in the field. Disease incidence and severity will be recorded using the standard methodology identified for a particular disease.  At the time of harvest, yield and test weight will be calculated and a one-pound subsample will be collected in order to determine the percentage of splits and the 100-seed weights. Trials will be conducted at Morningstar Meadows Farm (8 varieties) and Borderview Farm (18 varieties).

Seeding Rate Trial

Proper seeding rates are required to maximize yield and quality of crops. Plant density can also have a significant impact on prevalence of disease in bean crops. Through this project we will conduct a seeding rate x planter type study to determine the best dry bean plant population for our region. This study will evaluate two different seeding rates and two planter types for their impact on dry bean yield and quality. The experimental design will be a randomized complete block with split plots and four replications. Plot size will be 20’ x 20’ with beans planted in a

30” row spacing configuration. Main plots will be corn planter type (plate or vacuum planter) and split plots will be seeding rates of 90,000 and 120,000 seeds per acre—to result in a desired plant population of approximately 5 to 9 plants per row foot. Research plots will be tine-weeded once before seeding emergence and again after the first two true leaves are present. During the growing season, plant emergence, population, plant height, and pod number will be measured. In addition, plant growth habits and disease incidence will be monitored and recorded as described above. At the time of harvest, moisture, yield, and test weight will be calculated and a one-pound subsample will be collected in order to determine the percentage of splits and the 100-seed weights. This trial will be conducted at Borderview Farm.

Planting Date Trial

Identifying the proper planting dates for dry beans is crucial to make sure the crop will have time to fully mature and dry down before harvest. Through this project we will conduct a planting date study to determine the range of best planting dates for our region. This study will evaluate three dry bean varieties and four different planting dates, beginning in mid-May and continuing weekly until mid-June. The experimental design will be a randomized complete block with split plots and four replications. Plots will be 10’ x 200’ with 30” row spacing. Main plots will consist of three heirloom varieties and the split plot treatments will be four planting dates. Research plots will be tine-weeded once before seeding emergence and again after the first two true leaves are present. During the growing season, plant emergence, population, plant height, and pod length will be measured.

In addition, plant growth habits and disease incidence will be monitored and recorded. At the time of harvest, moisture, yield, and test weight will be calculated and a one-pound subsample will be collected in order to determine the percentage of splits and the 100-seed weights. This trial will be conducted at Borderview Farm and Morningstar Meadow Farm.

Mixed model analysis will be calculated using the mixed procedure of SAS (SAS Institute, 2008). All treatment factors in this experiment will be considered fixed with the exception of replicates. Mean separation among treatments involving variety, planting date, and seeding rates will be obtained using the Least Significant Difference procedure when significant F-tests (P<0.10) are observed.

Outreach

1. The “Dry Bean Production Guide” created in Part I of this grant will be expanded to include additional research and scouting data collected from Part II of this project. The bulletin will include general information on dry bean growth and development, agronomics, pest management, and harvest considerations. In 2016, information specific to planting equipment, seedborne disease issues, insect vectored diseases, and seed treatments will be added to the guide. The guide will be distributed at 2017 winter conferences as well as posted online at www.uvm.edu/extension/cropsoil.

2. During the 2016 growing season we will work with Seth Johnson to develop 3 short YouTube videos that highlight bean production techniques including calibrating a planter, harvesting strategies, and bean cleaning and processing. Each video will be approximately 5 minutes in length and posted on our YouTube site (https://www.youtube.com/user/cropsoilsvteam) as well as links integrated into the Dry Bean Production Guide.

3. A factsheet will be generated on Pests of Dry Beans. This 2 to 3 page colored factsheet will be developed to help farmers easily identify disease and insect pests commonly found in dry beans in the Northeast. The factsheet will be made available online, included as part of the production guide, and provided to attendees at the summer field days.

4. Two field days held at Borderview Farm in June and August will highlight the bean research trials and pest scouting protocols. At each event farmers will be trained on how to identify disease and pest issues in dry beans. These events draw over 350 people from the region each year.

5. Research reports will be generated at the end of the season from each experiment conducted and posted on the UVM Northwest Crop and Soil website (uvm.edu/extension/cropsoil. This website receives approximately 28,000 hits per year.