Varieties and varieties of beans: faba (garden), ornamental, large-fruited vegetable, fodder
Legumes are the largest family of dicotyledonous flowering plants. In the tropics and subtropics, leguminous trees and shrubs grow; in temperate latitudes, these are herbaceous plants.
The list of common food crops includes peas, beans, beans, lentils, soybeans, and chickpeas. Broad beans, clover, and alfalfa are grown for animal feed. In our article we will focus on beans.
What types of beans are there?
By appearance the fruits of beans cannot be confused with beans and peas: flattened shape, varied color.
In composition they are not inferior beans, but are inferior to it in taste and culinary qualities.
100 g of beans contains:
- proteins – 26 g (35% daily value);
- fats – 1.53 g (2% daily value);
- carbohydrates – 58 g (19% daily value);
- water – 11 g;
- ash – 3 g.
The calorie content of 100 g of product is 341 kcal. The combination of vitamins - group B, A, PP, C, E - and microelements - sodium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc - make the product indispensable in dietary and baby food.
Why beans are good for humans:
- neutralize preservatives, since the composition contains molybdenum;
- daily consumption of 100-150 g of beans lowers cholesterol levels;
- remove heavy metals and radionuclides, which is important for everyone;
- B vitamins improve brain function;
- Vitamins PP, K, C calm and relieve stress.
The vegetable causes flatulence. People with gastrointestinal problems should use it with caution.Undercooked and raw beans, especially black beans, cause severe food poisoning.
Important! Beans do not accumulate nitrates and are considered an environmentally friendly product.
According to their economic purpose, plants are divided into vegetable (food, garden) and fodder.
Fava or garden beans
Fava beans - what kind of plant is this? Garden bean (Vicia faba), horse bean or Russian bean is a species of annual herbaceous plants of the Vicia genus of the Legume family. It reaches a height of 20 cm to 150 cm. The powerful tap root goes underground 90-140 cm. The tetrahedral stem is densely covered with bluish-green leaves. The white or pink flowers with black spots on the wings have a pleasant, sweet scent that attracts pollinating insects.
Reference. The history of cultivation of the crop dates back to the biblical times of the reign of King Solomon.
Popular varieties: Russian black, Velena.
Russian black garden beans
The variety was bred by the All-Russian Research Institute for Selection and Seed Production of Vegetable Crops. It has been grown throughout the country since 1943.
Plant up to 60 cm high with a branched stem. The flowers are white with purple streaks on the sail and dark spots on the wings.
7-15 elongated pods 7-8 cm long are formed on the plant. 2-3 dark purple fruits ripen inside.
Russian blacks are a mid-early variety. It takes 70-80 days from planting seeds to full ripening, and 60-65 days to technical ripeness. The crop yield is average - 0.5 kg per 1 sq. m.
The variety is unpretentious in care.
This is interesting:
A selection of the best recipes for canned green beans.
Garden Bob Velena
Developed by the All-Russian Research Institute for Selection and Seed Production of Vegetable Crops.Cultivated since 1993.
Velena has an erect, weakly branched stem up to 1 m high, compound dark green leaves, large white flowers with black spots on the wings.
Sugar pod, without a parchment layer, up to 12 cm long, with 3-4 fruits inside. The beans are angular and pale yellow in color.
Vilena belongs to the mid-early varieties - 85-90 days pass from germination to technical ripeness. The yield is high - 1.5 kg per 1 sq. m.
The variety is susceptible to ascochyta blight.
Reference. The best seeds are those that have undergone all the necessary processing by the manufacturer, even if the varieties are resistant to diseases and pests.
Decorative
The legume family includes decorative varieties of beans.
These are annual bush-shaped plants or climbing vines. Blooming and useful beauty came to Europe in the 15th century from South and Central America and became incredibly popular.
Decorative beans are both a decoration for the garden, low-calorie tasty fruits, and a natural nitrogen fertilizer for the soil. Planted next to potatoes, they increase its yield by up to 50% and repel the Colorado potato beetle.
Reference. The main enemy of decorative beans is frost.
Planting and caring for decorative climbing beans is similar to the agricultural technology of our usual beans.
Decorative purple beans, or hyacinth beans
Inedible variety. The liana grows up to 4 m in length.
When 4-5 leaves appear on a young plant, the top is pinched, which causes rapid growth of shoots.
Purple beans have a variety of leaves (green, purple, reddish) and the same inflorescences (white, pink, crimson with a pleasant sweet aroma).
The pods are 10-15 cm in size, green, dark purple.
Fire red multifloral beans, or Turkish beans
The plant is unpretentious to grow. It looks spectacular: it grows up to 4 m in length, blooms with bright red small flowers, the foliage is a deep dark green color. The fruits are edible, light purple in color with black dots.
Turkish beans (see photo) bloom from June to September. When young, they are eaten like green beans, and when ripe, like beans. The fruits are boiled well before use.
Blauchilda
Everything - leaves, flowers, and pods - has a dark purple hue.
The variety is late; it is safer to grow it through seedlings. Blooms early. One plant bears both flowers and fruits during the season.
Blauchilda is an asparagus type of bean; the pods, 15-20 cm long, change color to green when cooked. The fruits in the pods are beige and when cooked become oily in taste.
The vine of this variety is heavy, up to 4 m long, so it needs strong support.
Purple Lady
Mid-early climbing asparagus variety. The liana is not tall - up to 1.5 m. The flowers are large purple. Beans of the same color, 15-20 cm long, are ready for consumption 50-55 days after germination.
The variety bears fruit abundantly and is distinguished by high taste.
Vegetables
Beans are undeservedly forgotten today. In terms of protein content, they compete with meat and can replace it on fasting or fasting days.
Modern varieties have large fruits and are grown in different climatic zones.
White large-fruited
Variety of the trade brand "Aelita" is high-yielding, mid-season, cold-resistant. The period from germination to seed ripening lasts 90-110 days, to consumer ripeness of young beans - 40-50 days.
A bushy plant up to 90 cm high forms 10-15 straight pods 20-25 cm long, which contain 6-7 large fruits. At milky ripeness they are light green, and when ripe they are white.
Seeds are sown in open ground, after soaking until they swell. Planting depth is 5-8 cm. At the beginning of flowering, plants are pinched to speed up ripening.
Windsor
A mid-late, cold-resistant variety, bred by English breeders more than 200 years ago, suitable for cultivation in the North-Western and Central regions of Russia.
The variety is divided into Windsor white and Windsor green:
- Windsor Whites have a growing season of 120 days and white fruits;
- Windsor greens have a growing season of 130 days and the beans are green.
The branched stem reaches 1 m. The flowers are white or pink with spots. Large pods crack when ripe. Inside there are two large beans, rarely three.
The yield of the variety is high - from 1.5 kg per 1 sq. m.
Reference. Windsor varieties are superior to other varieties in the content of vitamins A and C.
Belarusian
The variety selected by the All-Russian Research Institute for Selection and Seed Production of Vegetable Crops has been grown since 1950.
Description of Belarusian beans:
- the plant is weakly branched, 60-90 cm high;
- white flowers with brown veins form a pod 8-12 cm long with 3-4 beans inside, which cracks when ripe;
- dark green oval fruits;
- growing season – 90-110 days;
- yield - 0.5 kg per 1 sq. m.
The Belorusskie variety has a high protein content.
Feed varieties
Broad beans are an ancient crop, but the areas under which they are cultivated in Russia are small.
The biological characteristics of broad beans include:
- minimum temperature for seed germination – -3…-4°С;
- undemanding to heat during the growing season - +18...+20°C is sufficient;
- Frost resistance – can withstand temperatures down to -5°C.
The grains contain up to 30% vegetable protein.
Siberian
The variety of the “Siberian Federal Scientific Center of Agrobiotechnologies RAS” was approved for cultivation in 2007. Recommended for cultivation in the West Siberian region.
The growing season for silage is 55 days, for grain – 90-100 days.
The plant is medium-sized, the pods do not crack when ripe.
Vegetable protein content – 29%, crude protein – 17%.
The average grain yield is 35 c/ha.
Streletsky
A new variety of legumes with a yield of up to 70 c/ha and a protein content of up to 33%.
Resistant to frosts down to -3°C, droughts and diseases. The growing season is 90-100 days. Plants do not lie on the root, fruits do not fall off.
Conclusion
The benefits and beauty of beans are endless. Due to their high protein content, they are a complete substitute for meat. Many species are used to decorate areas and as animal feed. And the variety of varieties allows the crop to be grown in almost any climatic zone of the country.