The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
ONE fundamental component of highly productive and rewarding farming business is to have different income streams. At any given point, a farmer must have produce on the market to improve liquidity and more importantly, address the overall top-line of the enterprise.
Crop diversity spreads risks and one can hardly have smooth operations and financially sound farming business without having multiple sources of income.
This early February, the soil has enough moisture, making sugar bean production is one of the options farmers can still explore.
Sugar beans production is popular with both smallholder and commercial farmers in Manicaland.
The legume crop is a high value produce that derives its significance from being a critical source of protein.
Its other positive attribute revolves around its unmatched ability to fix nitrogen into the soil, thereby making it a perfect rotation option with crops like maize and tobacco, thereby reducing input costs that are often a constraint to resource-poor smallholder farmers.
It fetches lucrative prices on the market and is considerably cheap to grow.
Farmers can try beans cognisant of the fair rains, the high selling prices being offered compared to other crops and the spontaneous payment method when selling it.
It is therefore important for resource poor smallholder farmers struggling to venture into commercial crops like tobacco, which demand high capital injection – and a significant number of others failing to find any joy from traditional crops such as maize – to broaden their horizons and venture into sugar beans farming as a viable option.
Mr Clemence Mucharedzeyi, an agronomist with SeedCo, implored farmers to plant sugar beans now.
“They will benefit a lot during this time of the year because irrigation cost is cut by a greater margin since it is still raining. Farmers need to take advantage of the rains. When choosing sugar beans varieties, farmers need to know the days to maturity, disease resistance and yield per hectare of any given variety.
“Sugar beans has great advantage of being non-perishable, hence a farmer can store and sell at a later date. It has high demand because it is used as relish and ingredient for the food canning industry, among other uses,” said Mr Mucharedzeyi.
Mr Mucharedzeyi discouraged farmers from using retained seed as this will impact negatively on their yield.
“Farmers are encouraged to grow certified seeds from reputable suppliers. Return per hectare is huge when they do it well. It is also a quick turn-around business venture,” said Mr Mucharedzeyi.
The following are tips to help increase productivity.
Sugar beans grow best in well drained sandy loam or clay loam soils.
This promotes good seed to soil contact which is ideal in the achievement of the desired crop stand and plant population.
When planting sugar beans, the ideal pH level is in the range of 5.5 – 6.5 (Calcium chloride scale).
Farmers need to apply basal fertilisers when planting sugar beans.
Sugar beans, being a leguminous crop, fixes nitrogen in the presence of nitrogen fixing bacteria. This process can be amplified by the application of an inoculant bacteria (rhizobium).
Rhizobium meant for soya beans is not interchangeable with that of sugar beans.
As a living organism, rhizobium is sensitive to a number of conditions, including direct exposure to fertiliser, heat and large quantities of water.
Rhizobium should be kept in a cool environment, and direct contact with fertiliser at planting should be avoided. It should be applied using about one litre of water (with 50g of sugar) per hectare.
When applied well, rhizobium reduces the need for top dressing (ammonium nitrate) with a resultant reduction in production cost and consequent increase in profit margins.
If the crop appears pale, farmers can apply ammonium nitrate as it may be a failure of rhizobium to fix nitrogen.
Effective pest control can be achieved if regular scouting is religiously followed.
Farmers should spray recommended insecticides at least four times in the first month of crop emergence for effective control of bean stem maggot.
Other pests such as cutworms, aphids, boll worms and leaf hoppers must be controlled before they reach economic threshold levels that can cause significant yield losses.
Having received significant rains across the country, farmers should establish their sugar bean crop as soon as possible to reduce chances of crop failure.
