Baby lima beans for processing are a new crop in New York. As growers prepare to plant, they must understand the differences in herbicides for this crop compared to snap beans and dry beans. Lima beans react to some herbicides differently because they are the species Phaseolus lunatus as compared to common beans which are P. vulgaris.

Serious injury can be caused to lima beans if Eptam, Reflex, Assure II/Targa, or PostEmergence applications of Pursuit are used.

Herbicides that are labeled for lima beans in New York are given in the table below. Mark VanGessel from the University of Delaware provides the following information: on our loamy soils (approx. 1% organic matter) growers use 1.0 to 1.25 pints/A of Dual Magnum (rates similar for snap beans) and 1.5 to 2.0 oz of Pursuit at planting. They can be used pre-plant incorporated (PPI), but most farmers are applying them immediately after planting (PRE). Sandea is also labeled, but Pursuit is a better fit for the weeds in DE. Basagran, Sandea, Poast and Select Max are labeled for post-emergence control, with the choice depending on the weeds that emerge. We have a lot of Pursuit/Sandea resistant pigweeds in DE so be sure to rotate away from this mode of herbicide action in years that you are not growing lima beans in these fields.

Herbicides for Lima Bean Weed Control in NY in 2015 (pdf; 112KB)