Beans and Peas

Snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), lima beans or butterbeans (Phaseolus lunatus), and southern peas or cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) are all legumes that can be grown throughout North Carolina. Commercial snap bean production is concentrated in Hyde County and the eastern coastal plain. Pole beans are a type of snap bean grown on trellises. Pole beans are grown commercially in the mountain counties and, on a limited scale, in a few of the eastern counties. Commercial lima bean production also occurs in the eastern coastal plain during the spring and early summer. Southern peas are also called "field peas", "crowder peas", "cowpeas" and "blackeyes", but Southern peas is the preferred name. They are popular in home gardens throughout the state.

Some additional web sites:

• Vegetable Disease Information Notes
• Pole Bean Production by Douglas C. Sanders and Jeanine Davis
• Southern Peas by Douglas C. Sanders

More information about disease in beans and peas is available from the Plant Disease and Insect Clinic or Gerald Holmes.