Problems With Snap Beans

Flower Drop

• String bean and bean plants in general have a common problem called flower drop. In many vegetable plants, a flower will form and then the beginning of the vegetable will begin to grow in the flower's place. Occasionally, the flower will drop prematurely; this is known as flower drop. This problem is caused by a few different reasons: frequent or sudden changes in heat, or overhead watering as opposed to watering at the root. If string bean plants experience an extreme, sudden heat change, this can kill the pollen in the flower causing the flower to drop off the plant. Watering the plant overhead and not at the roots can also cause the flowers to drop before the vegetable is ready to grow due to the weight of the water on the flowers.

Pests

• Common pests that may plague your string beans are the Mexican beetle, leafhopper, aphids and types of spider mites. Keeping an eye out and removing the bugs from your garden as you see them can prove affective. To prevent these pests from doing damage, use an insecticidal soap or spray on your plants, and always remove leafs that look badly damaged or have insect egg sacks laid on the bottom side of the leaf.

Root Rot

• Root rot is typically caused by fungus growing in the soil from soil that was already exposed to fungus, overwatering or poor drainage after watering. When a plant suffers from root rot, it is not likely to survive. In many cases, two out of five plants will be affected by root rot.

Diseases

• Blight and mosaic diseases are a problem for almost all bean plants. Mosaic disease causes the leaves of the plant to turn from the natural green to a yellowish green. Leaves of a plant with mosaic diseases may also have oddly shapes leaves and may yield little to no produce at all. Blight causes yellow or brown spots on the plant and leaves the pods with a water-soaked appearance. Handling the plants while the leaves are wet is a top way to spread this disease around the plant, so only touching the plant once it has dried is key to prevention.