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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.

West coast: Kerala, Goa, Konkan, coastal Karnataka, south Gujarat

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 West coast

  • Season

    Two seasons, July to September and January to February; all year in the high ranges above 1,000 m6

  • Sowing to last picking

    Bush beans are picked from 50 to 60 days after planting and pole beans from 70 to 80 days.6

  • Sow

    July to September6

  • First harvest

    50 to 60 days after sowing6

Across India

When to sow it

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

Too late this season

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

Sowing now in:Central plateauSouth interiorEast coast
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
West coastKerala, Goa, KonkanSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra
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 GujaratCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
West coastJuly to SeptemberJanuary to February
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
Central plateauOctober to mid-November
Deccan plateauSeptember to October
South interiorOctober to NovemberFebruary to MarchJuly to August
East coastOctober to November

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

  1. Before sowing

    Farmyard manure6

    20 tonnes per hectare · Apply as a basal dose before sowing · basal

  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 picking6

Water every 7 days, more at flowering and pod set.6Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

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 West coast, 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 West coast aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering6Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

The crop needs irrigation outside the rains. Water about once a week in dry weather and keep the soil moist at flowering and pod set; on raised beds the water drains away in heavy rain.

WeedingNo published guide covers this for the West coast, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Weed twice, about three and six weeks after sowing, and earth up the plants.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
basalFarmyard manure20 tonnes per hectareApply as a basal dose before sowing

Sources6

Varieties and yield

Typical range6

8 to 10 tonnes a hectare

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

Varieties grown here6,3

  • Contender

    Bush; green, round, stringless pods

  • YCD-1

    Bush; dual purpose

  • Arka Komal

    Bush; straight, flat, green pods

  • Arka Suvidha

    Bush; light green, stringless pods

  • Pusa Himlata

    Pole; round, stringless pods

  • Kashi Baingani

    Pole, purple pods; ICAR-IIVR; notified for Goa, Kerala and Maharashtra among others

  • Kashi Param

    Bush; ICAR-IIVR; notified for Goa and Maharashtra among others

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

Keep it away from

Pests and diseases6Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Aphids

    Signs

    Suck sap from the plant; young leaves curl and yellow.

    What to do

    • Put up yellow sticky traps
    • Spray neem oil

  • Pest

    Pod borer

    Signs

    Larvae bore into the pods and eat the seeds.

    What to do

    • Pick and destroy bored pods

  • Disease

    Root rot and collar rot

    Signs

    Seedlings and young plants rot at the base in wet soil.

    Prevention

    • Grow on raised beds
    • Avoid waterlogging
    • Rotate crops

  • Disease

    Bean mosaic

    Signs

    Leaves mottled, crinkled and curled; plants stunted.

    What to do

    • Pull out and destroy affected 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 West coast, 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. 6Package of Practices: French beansVegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK), Government of KeralaRead the source
  5. 7French BeanDepartment of Agriculture, Himachal PradeshRead the source

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