The Organic
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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.

Sub-tropical foothills: Jammu, Kangra, Dehradun

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 Sub-tropical foothills

  • Season

    Spring crop sown in late winter; an autumn crop in the Himachal low hills1,7,2

  • Sowing to last picking

    Pods are ready about 50 to 60 days after sowing, 2 to 3 weeks after the first flowers.1

  • Sow

    Last week of January1,7,2

  • First harvest

    50 to 60 days after sowing1

Across India

When to sow it

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

Too late this season

The window here was August to September. The next one opens in January.

Sowing now in:Central plateauSouth interiorEast coast
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
Sub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunTemperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, Delhi
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimArid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaDeccan 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
Sub-tropical foothillsLast week of JanuaryFirst half of FebruaryAugust to September
Temperate HimalayaApril to JuneMarch to AprilJune
Cold desertMid-May to mid-JuneMid-July to mid-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
Central plateauOctober to mid-November
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 manure1

    6 to 8 tonnes per acre · Apply the whole amount 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 50 to 60

    First picking1

Beans have shallow roots and suffer from too much water. Keep the soil evenly moist when pods set and grow.1

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 Sub-tropical foothills, 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 Sub-tropical foothills aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering1

Beans have shallow roots and suffer from too much water. Keep the soil evenly moist when pods set and grow.

Weeding1

Keep the field free of weeds. Hoe twice, at 25 and 40 days after sowing.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
field preparationFarmyard manure6 to 8 tonnes per acreApply the whole amount while preparing the field

Sources1

Varieties and yield

Typical range8

80 to 100 quintals a hectare

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

Varieties grown here1

  • Contender

    Bush; fleshy, stringless pods; tolerant to mosaic and powdery mildew

  • Pusa Parvati

    Bush; tolerant to mosaic and powdery mildew

  • Arka Komal

    Bush; straight, flat pods that travel well

  • Arka Anoop

    Bush; resistant to bacterial blight and rust

  • Kashi Param

    Bush

  • Kentucky Wonder

    Pole; first picking 60 to 65 days after sowing

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

Keep it away from

Pests and diseases1,2Part 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

    • Put up yellow sticky traps, 4 an acre

  • Pest

    Jassids (leafhoppers)

    Signs

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

    What to do

    • Put up delta or sticky traps, 4 an acre

  • 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

    Bean gall weevil

    Signs

    Grubs form galls on the stems, which weaken the plants.

    What to do

    • Stake the plants well

  • Pest

    Pod borer

    Signs

    Larvae bore into the pods and eat the seeds.

  • Disease

    Powdery mildew

    Signs

    White floury growth on stems, branches, leaves and pods; badly hit plants stay stunted.

    Prevention

    • Grow a tolerant variety such as Contender or Pusa Parvati

  • Disease

    Ascochyta blight

    Signs

    Brown spots on leaves and stems; the roots turn brown.

    Prevention

    • Sow healthy seed

  • Disease

    Wilt and root rot

    Signs

    Plants wilt without yellowing (wilt), or the roots and collar rot and the lowest leaves yellow before the plant wilts (root rot).

    Prevention

    • Avoid early sowing in badly affected fields
    • Follow a three year rotation with cereals

  • Disease

    Bacterial blight and rust

    Signs

    Leaf spots (blight) or rusty pustules, mostly under the leaves (rust).

    Prevention

    • Grow a resistant variety such as Arka Anoop

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 picking1Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

After the last picking, cut the plants and compost them or dig them in. Where wilt and root rot are a problem, follow beans with cereals for three years.

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. 1Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2020 (French bean; insect-pest and disease management in legume crops)Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-Jammu)Read the source
  2. 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
  3. 3French bean varieties developed by IIVRICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, VaranasiRead the source
  4. 4Horticulture: Vegetables: French beansTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
  5. 7French BeanDepartment of Agriculture, Himachal PradeshRead the source
  6. 8Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2016 (French bean)Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-Jammu)Read the source

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