This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English AgricultureReport.
Snap beans possess the goodqualities of other beans, but they may be less well known. Snapbeans are native to the Americas. They are harvested and servedinside their covering, called a pod. Most kinds of snap beans aregreen, but some have yellow or purple pods.
Snap beans are picked when they are young. Fresh ones break inhalf with a sound like the snap of two fingers. But the pods and thebeans inside are soft enough to cook easily and eat.
In the United States, there are different names for snap beans.Some people call them string beans. That is because earlier kindshad strings that had to be removed from the pods. Other names aregreen beans or wax beans, which are yellow.
Pole beans are closely related to other kinds of snap beans.Farmers grow these long, thin plants on sticks or poles for support.Some pole beans can be harvested up to ten times in a season. Butpole beans require more labor. They are not easily harvested bymachine like snap beans grown on short plants.
Snap beans have a short growing period, forty-five to sixty days.They are sold fresh, canned or frozen. They grow easily. But toomuch water in the soil will cause disease in the roots.
The soil should be loose. Snap beans should be planted indifferent areas from year to year to avoid disease carried in thesoil. Like all beans and peas, snap beans release nitrogen into thesoil. So they provide natural fertilizer.
The world crop is about one-thousand-five-hundred-millionkilograms. France, Mexico, Iraq and Argentina are big producers. Butthe United States is the biggest producer and importer of snapbeans. After years of decrease, Americans are again eating more ofthis traditional vegetable with their evening meal.
In the United States, the Agriculture Department says prices havemoderately increased even while production has risen. Americanimports increase during the winter months. The top growing season isMay through October.
Beans are naturally high in protein. But they provide higherquality protein when eaten with a grain like rice or wheat. Beansare also high in vitamins A, B and C. And they contain a lot offiber, a vegetable material that many people do not get enough of intheir diet.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by MarioRitter. This is Steve Ember.