Snap Bean or Green Bean or France Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Snap Bean or Green Bean or France Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a vegetable fruit including Leguminosae family, originally from Central America and South America.  This plant is more suitable to be cultivated in the medium and highland plateau. Bean plants can be divided into two types namely vine type (indeterminate nature) and upright type (shrub-shaped and determinate nature).  The vines type have more branches; have a lot more flowers anyway, so it has the potential for greater returns. This type can reach 3 feet in length and easy to fall down, so it takes a trellis / stake in order to grow well. 

The  upright type generally short with no more than 60 high cm.

This nut is known throughout the world and is one of the raw materials of various types of popular processed foods.  Snap Bean are generally harvested when the fruit is still young. There are a lot of soup recipe that include Snap Beans as part of the raw material.  Although physically beans are fruits, but when it is used more commonly referred  as a vegetable.

Plant characteristics:

The upright type of Snap Bean plants  grow on optimum on temperature 20 up to 25 C at an altitude of 300-600 m above sea level, with a soil pH of 5.8 to 6, while the vines type grow well in cool temperate areas with an altitude of 1000-1500 m above sea level. Snaps are sensitive to drought and water logging, so they should be planted in areas with good  irrigation and  drainage. This plant is suitable to grow in a light loam soil with good drainage.

The plan trunk is segmented , petiole attached at each end of the segment. Snap bean tree has three compound leaves  (trifoliolatum), leaves form is elliptic triangle. Bean plant has a taproot that can penetrate the soil to a depth of 1 m +. The roots that grow horizontally from the base of the stem usually spread at a depth of about 60-90 cm. Most roots forming a pimple (nodules) which is a source of nitrogen and some elements without nodules that functions are to absorb water and nutrients.

Bean flowers arranged in a bouquet shaped bunch, flowers are white or yellowish white and even some are red or violet. On the type of vines bean, wreaths discharge not in unison. While the upright beans type wreath growth almost at the same time (synchronously).  This species is a self-pollinated plant, but often occurs naturally crosses happens, although in very small amounts or percentages.  Bean flowers bloom in the morning around 7:00 to 8:00. Pollination of flowers will produce fruit called "pods.”

The Fruit:

Fruit-shaped pod, both long-term-round or flat. When the pods are young the color of the outer skin is light green, dark green or yellow, but when the fruit old  then change in to yellow or brown color, some are even yellow speckled red. Pod length ranged between 12-13 cm or more and each pod containing seeds between 2-6 grains, but can sometimes reach 12 points. Seeds are round rather long upright or flat, white, black, purple, brown or red speckled white. The seeds are used to seed the generative propagation.

Harvest to consumption is generally done when the fruit is young and used as a vegetable. Snap Bean is rich with protein and vitamins, believed that it helps lower blood pressure, oversee blood sugar metabolism. Very suitable to be consumed by those who suffer from diabetes or hypertension,  fiber content and high enzyme can help with weight loss. 

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz): Energy 131 kJ (31 kcal), Carbohydrates 6.97 g, Fat 0.22 g, Protein 1.83 g, Vitamin A equiv. 35 μg (4%), Thiamine (vit. B1), 0.082 mg (7%), Riboflavin (vit. B2) 0.104 mg (9%), Niacin (vit. B3)  0.734 mg (5%), Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.225 mg (5%), Vitamin B6 0.141 mg (11%),  Folate (vit. B9) 33 μg (8%), Vitamin C 12.2 mg (15%), Vitamin K 14.4 μg (14%), Calcium 37 mg (4%), Iron 1.03 mg (8%), Magnesium 25 mg (7%), Manganese 0.216 mg (10%), Phosphorus 38 mg (5%), Potassium 211 mg (4%), Zinc 0.24 mg (3%), Fluoride 19 µg. 

Source: USDA Database.

Economic potential:

This fruit, which became known as the "vegetable" is a fruit that has been known in various parts of the world. Being part of a wide range of cuisine from different nations and cultures, although originating and grow better in the tropics but this fruit has become part of the global community needs, Africa, Europe, America and Asia. Of course cultivation on an industrial scale for this plant has good economic prospects, because the fruit beans have become daily necessities.

Taxonomic classification of the plant:

• Kingdom: Plantae (Plants)
•       Subkingdom: Tracheobionta (Vascular Plants)
•           Super Division: Spermatophyta (Produces seeds)
•               Division: Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
•                   Class: Magnoliopsida (dashed two / dicots)
•                       Sub Class: Rosidae
•                           Order: Fabales
•                               Family: Fabaceae (legumes tribe)
•                                   Genus: Phaseolus
•                                       Species: Phaseolus vulgaris L.