Читать книгу Dry Beans and Pulses Production, Processing, and Nutrition онлайн

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Most dry beans reach maturity in about 100 days, moisture content decreases as plants mature. Dry beans will store long term at moisture levels ≤18%. Maintaining good quality becomes more difficult when mechanically harvesting dry beans at the lower moisture levels. While the moisture level of the seed may be appropriate for harvest, often, the plant’s vegetative structures remain green, which complicates the harvest process, thereby compromising quality. To alleviate this detrimental condition, growers will often apply plant desiccants as harvest aids. Harvest aids kill the plant and significantly reduce plant moisture, and they improve the harvest process and overall seed quality (Knodel et al. 2019). Harvest aids work excellent in early September when daily temperatures are still warm, but efficacy declines when temperatures are cooler, and skies are more overcast during October (S. Bales 2021, personal communication). When harvest aids are used, strict preharvest intervals (PHI) between application and actual harvest are mandatory.