Bacterial diseases in beans are your crop's biggest threat

Bill Kerr says he can't overemphasise the importance of making sure that the bean seed you purchase is disease free.

- Bill Kerr

Bacterial diseases are such a threat that the US state of Idaho, for instance, has been declared a quarantine state. Seed from outside of that state has to first be grown in quarantine in a greenhouse with favourable conditions for bacterial diseases to develop. Only seedlings that show no sign of bacteria are then planted outdoors.

In the field, inspectors are clothed in outfits that a trout fisherman would wear. He or she would have a knapsack sprayer on their bakkie and spray themselves with disinfectant before entering each field.

If even one plant is found to be infected with a bacterial disease, the whole field is placed under quarantine and, if necessary, destroyed. The frequency of inspections would be increased in the whole neighbourhood. None of the production fields are allowed to use overhead irrigation, and areas for seed production have to be dry.