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Vegetables · Legume

Growing french beans

Phaseolus vulgaris · also called beans, faliyanA quick legume grown for its tender green pods, in bush or climbing types. It likes mild weather and drops its flowers in strong heat; frost kills it.

Central plateau: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail
Green French bean pods hanging among the leaves of a staked bean plant
Photo: Forest and Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0

At a glance

French beans in the Central plateau

  • Season

    Mainly a rabi crop sown after the rains

    No published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

  • Sowing to last picking

    Bush types are picked from about 45 days after sowing and give 2 to 3 pickings; pole types start at about 70 days.2

  • Sow

    October to mid-November

    No published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

  • First harvest

    45 days after sowing2

Across India

When to sow it

Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.

Sow now

The window here is October to mid-November.

Sowing now in:South interiorEast coast
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
Central plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaArid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north Karnataka
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimArid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduWest coastKerala, Goa, KonkanEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
Central plateauOctober to mid-November
Temperate HimalayaApril to JuneMarch to AprilJune
Cold desertMid-May to mid-JuneMid-July to mid-September
Sub-tropical foothillsLast week of JanuaryFirst half of FebruaryAugust to September
North-west plainsJanuary to FebruaryJuly to September
Gangetic plainsJanuary to FebruaryJuly to September
North-east hills and valleysFebruary to MarchAugust to early September
Arid westLate September to OctoberFebruary
Deccan plateauSeptember to October
South interiorOctober to NovemberFebruary to MarchJuly to August
West coastJuly to SeptemberJanuary to February
East coastOctober to November

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

  1. Before sowing

    Farmyard manure2

    200 to 250 quintals per hectare · Mix into the soil while preparing the field · field preparation

  2. Day 6 to 10

    Seeds come up1,7,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

  3. Day 45

    First picking2

    Bush types 2 to 3 pickings; pole types 4 to 6

Beans have shallow roots and suffer from too much water, so avoid waterlogging. Water before sowing so the seed comes up well. Do not let the soil dry at flowering and pod set; water again when needed.2

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH1

    5.5 to 6.8

    Grows on most soils, from sandy loam to heavy clay. Sandy and loam soils suit an early crop and heavier soils a mid-season crop. Lime the soil if the pH is below 5.5.

  • SunlightNo published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

    At least 6 hours a day

    Full sun. Pick an open bed that gets sun for most of the day.

  • Temperature1,2

    Grows best at 15.6 to 21.1 °C

    Frost: none tolerated.

    Monthly temperatures for the Central plateau aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering2

Beans have shallow roots and suffer from too much water, so avoid waterlogging. Water before sowing so the seed comes up well. Do not let the soil dry at flowering and pod set; water again when needed.

Weeding2

Hoe and earth up 2 to 3 weeks after sowing, and again when flowers start. Take care not to damage the shallow roots.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
field preparationFarmyard manure200 to 250 quintals per hectareMix into the soil while preparing the field

Sources2

Varieties and yield

Typical range2

80 to 100 quintals a hectare

Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.

Varieties grown here3

  • Kashi Param

    Bush; notified for Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra among others

  • Kashi Baingani

    Pole, purple pods; notified for Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra among others

Good neighboursNo published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Keep it away from

Pests and diseases2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Aphids

    Signs

    Tiny soft insects; leaves yellow and young leaves curl. They also spread bean mosaic virus.

    What to do

    • Remove weeds around the field where aphids build up

  • Pest

    Jassids (leafhoppers)

    Signs

    Leaf edges yellow and then brown and dry, called hopper burn.

  • Pest

    Red spider mite

    Signs

    Large pale patches on the leaves, which curl, yellow, brown and drop.

    What to do

    • Spray a neem (azadirachtin) product

  • Pest

    Hairy caterpillar

    Signs

    Larvae eat the leaves and can strip the plants.

    What to do

    • Collect and destroy the young larvae while they are still in groups

  • Pest

    Pod borer

    Signs

    Larvae bore into the pods and eat the seeds.

  • Disease

    Anthracnose

    Signs

    Small pink spots on seed leaves and stems; sunken, dark, ulcer-like spots with reddish brown rims on the pods.

    Prevention

    • Sow clean seed from a healthy crop

  • Disease

    Web blight

    Signs

    Small water soaked spots on stems, pods and leaves turn tan with a dark border, and plants blight.

    Prevention

    • Rotate crops

  • Disease

    Bacterial blight

    Signs

    Irregular red to brown leaf spots with a narrow yellow halo.

    Prevention

    • Sow clean seed from a healthy crop

  • Disease

    Bean common mosaic

    Signs

    Young leaves turn pale, crinkled and stiff, then mottled and rolled downwards. Spread by aphids.

    What to do

    • Keep aphids down
    • Pull out and destroy infected plants

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Grow the seed crop with the same seed rate and spacing as the market crop. Keep 5 m between two varieties.

When the seed is ready

Leave the pods on the plant until they turn dry and straw coloured and the seeds rattle.

Cleaning the seed

Pick the dry pods, shell them by hand and dry the seed in the shade for a few days.

Store fully dry seed in a sealed tin or jar in a cool, dry place. Seed with about 12% moisture germinates better.

After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

After the last picking, cut the plants at the base and dig them in or compost them. Leave the roots in the soil to feed the next crop.

After the last picking, cut the plants at the base and dig them in or compost them. Burn or bury plants that died of wilt or root rot.

Rotation

Where wilt and root rot are a problem, follow a three year rotation with cereals.

Sources

Where this comes from

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.

These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.

  1. 2Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (French bean)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture)Read the source
  2. 3French bean varieties developed by IIVRICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, VaranasiRead the source
  3. 4Horticulture: Vegetables: French beansTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
  4. 7French BeanDepartment of Agriculture, Himachal PradeshRead the source

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