There's something going on with this bed of beans. Something's causing the leaves to get brown spots on them, then shrivel up and die. We've had horrible aphid problems this year, but I've been trying to spray them with water & soap daily. We've also released ladybugs and that's not helped at all. Something eats the new, young, tender growth.
We also have Alaska peas, which are doing okay, but have aphid problems, cantaloupes, bush beans, and a couple of cucumbers in this bed. We're organic, so we need an organic solution to the problem before I pull them all out.
I'll post a couple of pics for your diagnosis.
Help with these Beans Please
Well, after doing some research on my own, I think the pole beans have rust. Didn't know beans could get rust on them!
Still not sure about the last pic of the bush beans.
Wish I had a solution for you! The spotting on the bush beans looks a lot like the pattern of spotting on the pole beans... could it also be rust? I guess you'd know if the leaves had enough aphids underneath to account for that much damage. The gnawed off part in the second photo could be from a munching rabbit. ?
I hope you figure out the problem so you can replant and get a nice crop!
Looks like spider mites to me. They love green beans. I know that is my answer to everything but they are so disrtuctive. Didn't your tomatoes have them? Neem oil, but not during the heat of the day.
Lisa
No rabbits, but we did see a possum the other day. (Possum in the middle of a big city...very strange!) I really think it might be aphids for the eating, rust for the spotting. Not sure about spider mites. Haven't seen any of those on the beans, but we did spray some stuff on them last night that will also take care of spider mites (seaweed and compost tea). Thanks for the suggestions and ideas.
Beans are susceptible to so many things, rust, leaf blight, root rot complex, stem rot. spider mites........especially in our hot, humid climate. Also, the soapy water spray you are using could be spotting your leaves, some of the brown spots look like leaf burn from water being on the leaves in the sun (I killed two rows of beans by accidentally watering in the heat of the day, long story, power had been off, irrigation clock timer was off, water came on at wrong time).
Root rot complex causes the bean leaves to first become yellow then the edges turn brown then the whole plant wilts and dies. If you pull up the affected plant, you will see rot on the stem just at ground level.
Stem rot is similar, except the rot is above soil level. Let beans dry out between waterings, don't overwater.
Bacterial leaf blight causes spots on the leaves and I think there is also a halo blight that affects beans. I haven't had either here but one of the guys in our veggie co-op has had both. Rust on beans is a huge problem for growers in this area(I know we're way south of you). I haven't uses neem on beans, test a small area first and don't spray when bees are active.
When purchasing bean seeds, be sure you're getting a heat tolerant variety. Contender is a good tasting bush bean that is more heat tolerant. Some varieties are more resistant to disease than others.
When releasing ladybugs remember the adult ladybugs are more interested in mating and laying eggs. The eggs will hatch into hungry larva that devour aphids like crazy. Be sure you're not killing them with the soapy water.
Cala~Thank you so much for your thorough explanations. I had thought about the soapy water, overwatering, and watering at the wrong time of day being the cause of the problems. We've stopped watering them until they dry out. I've pulled some of the plants already, but I'm hoping to save others. Thankfully, we have a smaller bed of beans that are doing beautifully, so we'll have some if we lose these.
When is the best time to water?
We had a week of non-stop rain awhile back and I thought my beans were going to die. Some of the lower leaves don't look that great as it is. I am getting beans though. I just planted some more because I want more beans, I could eat them every day and not get tired of them. I have blue lake pole beans.
I agree, you should be able to keep fresh plantings of these thru the summer.
Stephanie, we have our irrigation system set to come on around 5 am, that way the leaves are dry before the sun comes up. It's usually cloudy first thing in the morning and no wind.
If things have really gotten too dry, I'll turn on the drip irrigation in late afternoon and I've been known to turn on the sprinklers in the late evening (hey, it rains at night) just not on squash or melons or the powdery mildew will rear it's ugly head.
Hey, Ya'll. From this discussion, I'm gathering I still have time to sow some cowpeas and green bean seeds, right? I'm gonna plant them in my eBuckets. Best part about growing in them is I don't have to wet any leaves when I water them. I can water from the top 'til they get going and then through the fill tube once they're established.
I HAD (still do) lovely Contender Beans growing in my small bed, but the cats turned it into a litter box. They're growing beautiful beans that will not get eaten...
Joeswife, look at this link http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/PPDL/hot07/7-12.html it looks like their photos of sunscald.
