PRGO issue timely advice on winter bean planting and pre-emergence weed control

"Beans can be planted at any time from now, with good soil conditions being present in most areas," says Becky Ward, PGRO senior technical officer. "The method of planting can be by drill or by ploughing-in seed that has been broadcast onto stubble. In the latter case, there will be some loss of uniformity and evenness in plant emergence, and a higher seed bed loss should be anticipated."

"The target population for winter beans is 18 plants /sq m in the spring, so some allowance should be made for losses based on the seed rate formula below (this is allowing for a 10% seed bed loss):