Vicia faba seed

LATIN NAME: Vicia faba

COMMON NAME: Broad Bean, Fava Bean, Faba Bean, Horse Bean

The broad bean is one of the oldest and most nourishing of all the beans, and it has fed people and livestock for thousands of years. It grows as a sturdy, upright annual, reaching up to a metre and a half, with square stems, grey-green, pinnate leaves and, in spring, clusters of white flowers with dark blotches, followed by the long, thick, downy pods, which hold the large, flat, pale green beans. It is a crop of the cool season, and it has been grown since ancient times in the Mediterranean and across the world, valued for its generous yields and its rich, nourishing beans.

The broad bean belongs to the pea and bean family, Fabaceae, and it is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieties with smaller, harder seeds are fed to horses and other livestock, and it is one of the most ancient of the cultivated crops.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The broad bean has a genuine and distinguished place in agricultural research. It is one of the most ancient and most important of the cultivated crops, and it has been studied extensively in agricultural science, with researchers examining its cultivation, its yields, its varieties and its breeding, while its role as a nitrogen-fixing legume has made it valuable in research on sustainable farming, since it enriches the soil for the crops that follow. The plant has also been studied in plant science for its genetics, since the broad bean has one of the largest chromosomes of any plant, which has made it a subject of interest in research on the genetics and the cell biology of plants. The species has also been studied in food science and nutrition, since its beans are a valuable source of protein and other nutrients. For a crop of such ancient importance, the broad bean has a rich and distinguished record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, the broad bean is a generous plant of the field. Its white flowers feed bees and other pollinators, and its nitrogen-fixing roots enrich the soil, improving the ground for the crops that follow, while its leafy growth covers and protects the soil.

Its economic value is real and worldwide. It is a valuable food crop, grown for its large, nourishing beans, which are eaten fresh, dried and cooked, and the smaller, harder varieties are fed to livestock, while it is also grown as a cover crop to improve the soil, making it a crop of great and continuing importance. For a grower, the broad bean is a generous and dependable crop, and for a gardener it brings tall, flowering plants and a harvest of fresh beans in the cool season. The seeds are among the easiest — sow them directly in a pot of moist soil in early spring, keep the soil lightly watered, and the sturdy seedlings appear within a couple of weeks, growing on to flower and set their pods by late spring.

Fava Bean (VIcia Faba)

Fava bean is an annual legume adapted to winter rainfall areas. It is a cool season plant, tolerant of frost and wet conditions. The seed is edible, the plant is used for silage and hay or as a green manure. It can be used as green manure which adds a large amount of organic matter to the soil.