Fava bean pods not developing -- any idea why?
 

A row of favas I planted earlier this spring has developed the lovely
flowers I enjoy, but when those flowers drop off, there's no emergent
bean pod ... something I've not seen before. These seeds were planted
in a newish bed that was filled primarily with a decent-quality
commercial compost mixture ... the original clay soil having been
carted away by our landscaper. Other crops did okay in that bad in year
one, especially carrots and lettuces. But something there is that the
favas don't seem to like.

jk

buckyboy wrote:
A row of favas I planted earlier this spring has developed the
lovely flowers I enjoy, but when those flowers drop off, there's no
emergent bean pod ... something I've not seen before. These seeds
were planted in a newish bed that was filled primarily with a
decent-quality commercial compost mixture ... the original clay
soil having been carted away by our landscaper. Other crops did
okay in that bad in year one, especially carrots and lettuces. But
something there is that the favas don't seem to like.

jk

Do Fava's need to be pollinated? Were there any pollinators around?

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8b
Sunset Zone 5

McGregors pollination handbook doesn't show all that great a yield
reduction on plots that bees were excluded from. My bet is poor
pollination from some other cause like rain or temperature.

In article .com,
writes:
| McGregors pollination handbook doesn't show all that great a yield
| reduction on plots that bees were excluded from. My bet is poor
| pollination from some other cause like rain or temperature.

It depends on the variety whether that is even plausible. They
are reliable in typical UK spring weather ....

More likely heat or drought, both of which can cause the varieties
grown here (i.e. as broad beans) to fail to set. Cold and wet do
cause setting failure here, but that does mean temperatures with
highs around 40 and/or rain that doesn't let up for more than an
hour or so at a time. They are partially self-fertile, but are
mainly pollinated by bumblebees here, which may be why miserable
conditions cause poor setting.

I can't speak for the "el ful" varieties.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Thanks all for your counsel ... we've had a protracted cool and wet
spring here in the SF Bay Area, with no more than a day or two of
sunshine here and there. I'd forgotten that the birds 'n' bees play a
role in all this...something to keep in mind in years to come.