8 
The Colorado Experiment Station 
tendency to blow. Where the land is prepared by listing, there is a 
tendency to slow up the development of the crop and delay maturity. 
In addition to these handicaps, beans planted by the listing method are 
more difficult to harvest; especially if there is damp weather during 
the harvest there is likely to be much damage to the pods by com¬ 
ing in contact with the soil. The tendency to pick up adobe soil o^ 
stones is increased at harvesting time. If listing is done at all, it 
should be very shallow so as to make the furrow to be filled about the 
growing plants as shallow as possible. 
It is not always necessary to plow; land in preparing a bean seed 
bed. Where the land was well plowed the year previous and in wheat, 
a good seed bed may be prepared without plowing, provided the wheat 
stubble is disked right after the binder to keep down weeds in the fall. 
The spring preparation may consist of disking when the weeds start, 
which will destroy the weeds and prevent the formation of a crust, and 
then disking and harrowing immediately before planting. After a 
cultivated crop such as corn, which has been well cultivated, a seed 
bed may often be prepared by disking and harrowing. 
On irrigated lands after sugar beets or potatoes, it is not neces¬ 
sary to plow in preparing a bean seed bed. Disking, leveling and 
harrowing will be sufficient in these circumstances. 
PLANTING 
Care in Selecting Seed Beans.—The importance of getting good 
seed beans is sufficient to warrant special care in picking the seed. 
It is worth while taking a little extra care in Colorado on account of 
the short seasons. In many localities there is danger of beans being 
frost bitten in the early fall. Sometimes this light freezing will very 
materially weaken the germ so that the crop will have very small 
germinating power, altho the frost may not be sufficient to injure 
the beans seriously for market purposes. Care should therefore be 
taken not to use beans for seed which have been frost bitten before 
full maturity. 
Many of the diseases which affect beans leave spots on the 
beans themselves. One of the most effective remedies in combatting 
bean diseases is to pick out plants for seed which are not affected 
by the disease. Accordingly all seed beans should be from plants se¬ 
lected in the field and hand picked. Plants having discolored beans 
with strange colored spots should be rejected, planting only from 
those having bright, clean seed. 
These statements hold, no matter what variety of beans is 
planted. 
