General Information

  • Category- Vegetable, Salad
  • Binomial Name- Phaseolus vulgaris
  • Common Names- Red kidney beans, Rajma
  • Spread- 12-16 inches**
  • Height- 18-20 inches**
  • Average Production- 120-250 grams per plant
  • Days to Maturity- 50-70 days(for green pods)

Nutrition Values:

  • Calories: 26
  • Water: 91.4%
  • Protein: 1.7 grams
  • Carbohydrates: 4.5grams
  • Sugar: 0.3 grams
  • Fiber: 4 grams
  • Fat: 0.50 grams

Vitamins

  • Vitamin C- 1.2 mg
  • Vitamin E- 0.03 mg
  • Vitamin K- 8.4 μg
  • Vitamin B1- 0.16 mg
  • Vitamin B2- 0.06 mg
  • Vitamin B3- 0.58 mg
  • Vitamin B5- 0.22 mg
  • Vitamin B6- 0.12 mg
  • Vitamin B9- 130 μg

Minerals

  • Potassium- 403 mg
  • Calcium- 28 mg
  • Iron- 2.9 mg
  • Magnesium- 45 mg
  • Phosphorous- 142 mg
  • Copper- 0.24 mg
  • Sodium- 2 mg
  • Zinc- 1.07 mg

*The values are standard average per 100 grams and might change a bit.

** The above values are for green pods.

Environmental Requirements:

  • Soil-   Loamy
  • Soil Moisture- 25%
  • Soil pH- 5.5-6.0
  • Sun Requirements- Full Sun
  • Best Time to Plant- Spring (Feb-March)
  • Temperature range-16-32 Celsius

Tips to Grow Kidney Beans:

  1. Arrange good quality of kidney beans seeds.
  2. The soil should be loamy and well-drained in nature. It should be loose also.
  3. Kidney bean seeds should be planted 1 to 1-1/2 inches deep. Space seeds about 3-4 inches for vice varieties and about 8 inches for bush varieties. You should only plant one kidney bean plant per pot
  4. Before you add any soil to the container, you will need to spread a layer of gravel (about 1-1.5 inches based on pot size) at the bottom to improve drainage. Otherwise, kidney bean plants can quickly become waterlogged inside of pots.
  5. After the plant gets started, kidney beans actually produce their own nitrogen inside their roots. A fertilizer with high levels of nitrogen will inevitably end up feeding the plant too much nitrogen.
  6. Check the beans of one pod before you harvest the other pods. You can check to see if the beans are done by carefully biting down on one. If your teeth can dent the bean, then the rest should be allowed to dry for a longer period of time before you harvest and shell them.

References: 

  1. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov 
  2.  https://iari.res.in
  3.  https://www.researchgate.net
  4.  Texbook of Vegetables by B.R. Chaudhary

 

** The values are standard values but might change based on the environmental conditions