BEAN RUST

Photo: Healthy beans.

I had a wonderful surprise the other day. I went into the garden to pick some peas and thought that I would check on the progress of the various types of beans we have growing. The last time that I looked there wasn’t even a tiny flower on the plants. What a difference a week makes! The plants were ladened with fresh juicy beans. The French ones are particularly prolific. We also have some interesting beans that stay a pale yellow colour; the flavour is as good as the regular types even though they look as though they have been bleached. Getting back to the peas, I thought they were a bit dry a few days ago, as we had not had much rain, so I gave them a good water. Now the peas are literally bursting, yes with flavour, but also the peas are all split when they come out of the pods as the increased water supply has boosted their growth really quickly.

BEAN RUST
Ian
This summer we have had bean rust on our broad and runner beans for the first time. Is there any way to reduce the effects and how do we prevent it next year? H.M Clonmany

Reply
The typical symptoms of this disease are rusty brown patches on the underside of leaves and on pods and stems. Although disfiguring, this disease is rarely serious. Good ventilation is usually sufficient to prevent attack, so avoid planting your crop in damp, sheltered sites. Re-infection in future seasons can also be avoided by clearing all crop debris at the end of this season, although it is safe to compost this waste. A spray of sulphur-based fungicide may help to reduce the affect of infection - this should be applied at the first sign of symptoms and every 10 days after.

Horticultural.