PRACTICE AND PRECEPT IN CULTURAL MANAGEMENT OF BEAN DISEASES

A review of four comprehensive sources of information reveals that cul tural practices, i.e. practices not employing host resistance, pestici des, or specific biological control agents, are important to the manag ement of all of the 50 principal diseases of common bean (Phaseolus vu lgaris) and essential to the control of 40. Thirty-one groups of cultu ral practices contribute to the control of bean diseases. The practice s most frequently recommended are rotation, pathogen-free seed, weed c ontrol, and tillage. The number of cultural practices recommended per disease ranges from 1 to 15. Several precepts relating to the developm ent and rational use of cultural practices in bean disease control are derived from this quantitative analysis. Control of diseases through cultural practices is essential to sustainable bean health.