Spring bean seed will be tight this year, but for those who are going to look at sowing the crop it is important to be informed on the variety you are choosing.
The spring beans recommended list was published by the Department of Agriculture this week and no new varieties have been added to the list for 2020. However, Lynx has been fully recommended having been added to the provisional list in 2019.
Yield
Lynx is the highest rating variety for relative yield at 105. Fanfare comes in at 101, while Boxer is at 97.
The average yield of the control varieties from 2017 to 2019 was 6.1t/ha when adjusted to 15% moisture content. Boxer, Fanfare and Fuego were used as controls in 2017, while Boxer, Fanfare and Lynx were used in 2018 and 2019.
Crude protein
All three varieties are close on their rating for percentage crude proteins. Fanfare rated 100, while Boxer and Lynx were at 99. The average crude protein content of the control varieties from 2017 to 2019 was 26.2% when calculated as a percentage of the dry matter yield.
Height
Boxer has an advantage of being the shortest variety at 125cm. Fanfare was the tallest variety at 131cm, while Lynx hit 127cm.
Disease resistance
The newest variety – Lynx – came in at the highest rating for resistance to chocolate spot at 7. Fanfare followed at 6, while Boxer rated at 5.
Both Lynx and Fanfare scored a 7 for resistance to Downy Mildew, while Boxer scored a rating of 6.
It should be noted that limited disease resistance data is available for all varieties.