UC Cooperative extension experts led by Michelle Leinfelder-Miles evaluated blackeye bean varieties in a commercial field in Stanislaus County in 2023. The season began with cool and wet spring conditions, which lasted through the month of June and delayed planting. Seven varieties from the University of California blackeye breeding program were planted on July 7th. The varieties were grown on a Hanford sandy loam, and the soil temperature was approximately 75°F at the time of planting. Each variety was planted across six rows on 30-inch spacing, on a row length of approximately 275 feet. The seeding rate was 40 pounds per acre. This was a non-replicated evaluation due to a limitation in seed; therefore, no statistical analysis is presented.
The trial was planted in a field of CB46, and fertility and pests were managed by the grower in the same manner as the field. Data are presented in Table 1. Stand counts were made approximately two weeks after planting on July 20th. The stand was assessed as the number of plants per two-foot length. Twelve replicate counts were averaged. We evaluated aphid and lygus damage on September 8th, which were low due to the grower’s management. For lygus, we took 10 sweeps from four locations in each plot and counted the lygus. Data were averaged and are presented as a 10-sweep count. For aphids, we used a rating scale from 0 to 10 that accounted for visible crown damage and aphid incidence. In addition to the in-field assessment of lygus, we also evaluated harvest samples for stings and found that, on average, about 1.2 percent of the beans had lygus damage. No diseases were observed.
We harvested on November 6th. All six rows of each variety were cut and raked into one windrow. At the time of cutting, the grower observed that CB77 plants were laying flat, but they were laying in such a way that the knives still picked up the plants. The grower also observed that CB74 had an upright growth habit that could potentially make it a variety viable for swather cutting. We evaluated 100-seed weight as a measure of seed size, evaluating five 100-seed samples per variety.
We would like to thank the cooperating grower, the CA Crop Improvement Association for funding regional trials, and the CA Dry Bean Advisory Board for assistance with statewide research prioritization and assistance with outreach. — Images & Article By Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UCCE
Table 1. 2023 Blackeye Bean Variety Evaluation Results
Calls have come in – “What is the browning on the avocado leaves? Thrips damage? Salt damage? Dothiorella?” Nope, Frost Damage. From the end of February to the first week of March, Santa Paula had one night of 30 deg F, and 3 nights of 33 and a few nights around 35.. It wasn’t cold cold, but cold enough that there was damage to the avocados there and more so the further east and up toward Ojai.It wasn’t enough to defoliate the trees, although many were under stress from the flowering that is going on and a lot of the leaves were dropping from the flowering stress. The damage to the leaves is a darkening of the leaf both of the bottom surfaces. In many cases, the flower panicles got scorched. This is just the start of a big flower push and it looks like there’s a lot of flowers that have not pushed that will be fine. It could still be a good avocado year. The coffee really got roasted. — By Ben Faber, UC Cooperative Extension