Green beans
Queensland's green bean industry
Queensland is the main producer of green
beans in Australia and supplies all the major Australian fresh markets. Green beans
(also known as French or string beans) are grown all year in Queensland, on
the Granite Belt during summer; Lockyer Valley and surrounding regions during
spring, summer and autumn; Gympie and Bundaberg during autumn, winter and
spring; and the Bowen and Burdekin districts during autumn, winter and early
spring. Bean production in southern parts of Australia is restricted to the
warmer months of late spring, summer and early autumn.
Beans grown on the Granite Belt and around Gympie are mostly harvested by hand, whilst production in the Lockyer Valley, the Bowen/Burdekin area and around Bundaberg is based on machine harvesting.
Because of the high capital costs involved and buyer's desire for a regular supply from a limited number of providers, there is an increasing trend towards fewer growers producing on a larger scale or joining a cooperative for added marketing power. Most of Queensland's beans are sold on the fresh market, however there is a small export trade.
In the year to 30 June 2005, Queensland produced 14,792 tonnes of beans worth $42 million on 3,011 ha, that is 44% of Australia's green bean production and 66% of its value (Source: ABS).
Research and development information
Current projects
Projects which DPI&F currently manage or are involved in include:
VG06016 - An extension to Integrated pest management in the green bean industry (VG02030)
This project is supported by Horticulture Australia Limited
(HAL), and AUSVEG, and is assessing
the potential for IPM in green beans. A series of DPI&F Notes on IPM in
green beans have been published, see under Crop information.
Managing bean root and stem
diseases (VG3002)
This project is supported by Horticulture Australia Limited
(HAL), and AUSVEG and is evaluating
methods of managing root and stem diseases in green beans.
Recent projects
Recent green bean projects that DPI&F have managed or been involved in include:
-
Bean root rot-etiology and control, 1997, Dominie Wright and Rob O'Brien (VG024)
-
Controlling stem rot (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) in beans (VG00020)
-
Integrated bean rust management (VG214)
-
Integrated management of sclerotinia disease in beans, 2000. Dr Hoong Pung, Serv-Ag Research (lead agency) and Rob O'Brien, DPI (VG97084)
Crop information
Enterprise management
This page contains business information,
including buying a farm, producing vegetables for market, and chemical use and
drought information.
Green beans 1: An
integrated approach to pest management
This DPI&F Note discusses the general principles
of an IPM system for green beans.
Green beans 2: Chewing
pests
This DPI&F Note
discusses chewing insect pests that may be found in green bean crops.
Green beans 3: Sucking
pests
This DPI&F Note
discusses sucking insect pests that may be found in green bean crops.
Green
beans 4: Beneficial insects in an IPM system
This
DPI&F Note discusses beneficial insects that may be found in green bean
crops.
Green beans 5: Crop
monitoring
This DPI&F Note discusses crop monitoring of green
beans for Integrated Pest Management.
Green beans 6:
Cultural practices in an IPM system
This DPI&F Note
discusses cultural management options in an IPM system for green beans.
Green beans 7:
Biological management options in an IPM system
This DPI&F
Note discusses biological management options in an integrated pest
management system.
Green beans 8: Chemical
management options in an IPM system
This DPI&F Note discusses chemical management options in an
integrated pest management system.
Green beans 9:
Pesticide application
This DPI&F Note
discusses pesticide application in green beans.
Pests & diseases
The Silverleaf whitefly in Queensland web page provides information about silverleaf whitefly and Project VG05050, and links to newsletters and project results as they become available.
Industry links
The green bean industry is represented by AUSVEG.
There are many industry groups representing the horticulture sector, visit our industry links page for links to many of their websites.
External references
The following web sites are external to the DPI&F site but contain information our green bean specialist considers would be of interest to Australian growers.
Answers.com has a range of information on its bean site.
The North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service web page Postharvest Cooling and Handling of Green Beans and Field Peas has some useful information on harvesting and post-harvest handling of green beans.
DPI&F information and services
- To access DPI&F's information and services, Queensland residents can contact the DPI&F Business Information Centre on 13 25 23 for the cost of a local call, from 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays). E-mail callweb@dpi.qld.gov.au. Non-Queensland residents phone (07) 3404 6999.
- Current national information on agricultural chemicals registered for use on all crops is available on the Infopest CD-ROM. Write to DPI&F, GPO Box 46, Brisbane, Qld 4001, E-mail infopest@dpi.qld.gov.au, visit the Infopest web page, or phone (07) 3239 3967 for further information.
Last updated 28 November 2007
Consumer information
Green bean nutrient content
These pages contain general information on green beans and their health benefits.
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand has information on the nutrient content of a wide range of foods including fruit and vegetables.
The USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference provides information on the nutrient content of a wide range of foods including green beans.
The world's healthiest foods web site has a page on green beans.
Fresh for kids - beans is a general bean information page written for kids.
