Inoculant

This page talks about the benefits of an inoculant for green beans.

What are inoculants? They are a highly effective form of Rhizobia bacteria that, when placed in close proximity to a green bean seed at planting, stimulates the formation of nitrogen-bearing "nodules" on the roots.

Other plants that can be inoculated are the clover, alfalfa, garden beans, garden peas, fava beans, soybeans, peanuts, lespedeza, lentils, lupine, and vetch.

When tilling the green bean plants into the soil, at the end of the season, these nodules add readily and easily assimilable nitrogen. Inoculation is a low-cost way to ensure nodulation in an environmentally safe manner.

Why should we use this bacteria on our green beans?

We will save on fertilizer. 79% of the air we breathe is made up of nitrogen. Inoculated green beans are able to convert and use this "free" nitrogen, measurably reducing the need for artificial supplemental fertilizer.

We will get more green beans. Green bean harvests average more pounds per acre when properly inoculated, which increases total production.

They help improve soil conditions. When green beans are tilled in, they decompose rapidly, increase organic matter in the soil, and improve a soil's physical, chemical, and biological condition.

How do we know if our inoculants are working? We can take a mature plant and dig it up and check to see if nodules are growing on the root system. If they are, take a knife and slice open one of the nodules.

If it is pink or red then they are doing their job properly.

If the inside is white or green, then the bacteria have run their course and it will need to be re-applied.

I used them many years ago and had a good harvest. Until reading and putting this article here, I had forgotten all about it. I remember seeing the nodules and thinking my plants had some sort of disease when I pulled them up at the end of the season.

For the 2010 season we will experiment with this. We will grow some with and some without.

Thank you for your visit.

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