Effect of harvest date and seed type on green-shell and dry bean yield

Abstract

In Puerto Rico, harvesting beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) near physiological maturity enhances the value of the crop. Whole-pod yields greater than 5,000 kg/ha were obtained from bean lines harvested about 65 days after planting. Whole-pod yields of the white bean cultivar Arroyo Loro were equal to or greater than those of bean breeding lines with different seed types. However, the green-shell seed yield of the small red line DOR364 was greater than that of Arroyo Loro. The small red line DOR364 achieved greater green-shell seed yields by partitioning a greater portion of wholepod weight into green-shell seed weight. Whole pod and green-shell bean yields were more consistent over years and locations than dry bean yields. Whole pod yields of beans harvested at the green-shell and semi-dry stages of development were similar, thus suggesting that harvest could be delayed as much as one week after the appearance of the first brown pod without losing green-shell bean yield.