Bean crop fights weather, diseases

Posted 9/15/09

But his inspectors are finding both white mold and bacterial bean blight in fields across the Big Horn Basin, he said. The early-finishing Othello fields may escape some of those problems, he said.

“It's sort of tough out there right …

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Bean crop fights weather, diseases

Posted

{gallery}09_10_09/beans{/gallery}The Big Horn Basin dry bean harvest is beginning, but cool, rainy weather and diseases have taken tolls on yield.Mike Moore, manager of the University of Wyoming Seed Certification Service, said his agency is just starting windrow inspections, and some fields are not doing well.“There are still a lot of fields out there that the pods haven't started to fill yet,” he said. Some fields are nearly ready to harvest, he said, mainly the Othello variety, which matures earlier than other varieties.

But his inspectors are finding both white mold and bacterial bean blight in fields across the Big Horn Basin, he said. The early-finishing Othello fields may escape some of those problems, he said.

“It's sort of tough out there right now,” he said. The only area that seems less affected by disease is the far southern end of the Big Horn Basin, Moore said. His inspectors have found blight and mold around Powell, Byron, Emblem and Burlington.

“It doesn't look like location is going to allow you to escape it,” he said.

White mold is less of a concern to the seed industry but does affect yield, Moore said. But a field with bacterial bean blight is not eligible for seed production. Fungicides are available to prevent white mold but few growers apply them, Moore said. The fungicides won't treat white mold after it appears. It thrives in fields where humidity is high and recent heavy dews have kept those levels up.

“At this point the cards are dealt,” Moore said. “We just have to figure out which fields have problems and which don't.”

Ironically, Moore said, fields that were planted at the right time and have done well all summer are now developing white mold because the leafy plants cover the rows, holding in the humidity.

“Bacterial bean blight has people anxious,” Moore said. “We're hoping it's not widespread, but it's pointing that direction.”

Linda Easum of ADM Edible Bean Specialties at Garland thinks the bean harvest will go through October as various varieties ripen.

It could be “a really long, drawn-out harvest” for beans under contract with ADM, she said. The recent sunny, warm weather is helping bean plants that struggled with earlier cooler and wet weather.

“I do think we have a fairly good long-range forecast,” she said.

Several fields have been cut into windrows, Easum said, and she expects beans to be delivered to ADM soon.

“I think we probably have an average crop,” she said, with yields affected both by the weather and by diseases such as white mold.

Moore also predicts lower yields.

“Overall, we'll be below average is my estimation at this point,” Moore said. “There are some excellent fields out there, but they're the exception.”

Both Easum and Moore hope for continued warm weather.

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