I thought the beans of broad beans were virtually immune to pests but some of mine have a brown mark on them with discolouration beginning below. The picture shows a young bean,picked so it's still sweet. Any one any ideas what the small mark is caused by?
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I can't say for certain . . . some of my pods have been holed by slugs and then visited by Earwigs, so the damage could be from Earwig.Originally posted by TrialAndError View PostI thought the beans of broad beans were virtually immune to pests but some of mine have a brown mark on them with discolouration beginning below. The picture shows a young bean,picked so it's still sweet. Any one any ideas what the small mark is caused by?
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I think it might be Bruchid beetles.
I left quite a few broad beans to save seed from this year. A month or so ago I collected them because the pods were going brown and crispy. Many of the seeds had similar marks to yours, although the seeds had changed colour due to drying out. I assumed it was just superficial damage and spread the seeds out on a windowsill to finish drying out.
But today when I was inspecting them, I found that many of the beans had small holes in. And hiding on the windowsill among the beans I found a couple of small beetles that have emerged from the beans via the holes. It's these fellows: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=454
That link says it's still okay to plant the seeds and they will usually grow. But I want to be sure all the beetles have come out first, so I think I'll leave the beans on the windowsill for a while longer yet. They might escape but my house is a good mile from the allotment site so good luck to them in finding any beans next spring!
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