The Beans and the Bees

In this episode of Inside the Pod, we’re joined by Charlotte Apsey, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge whose research gets right to the heart of one of the biggest questions facing pulse growers. How can we improve field bean yields while working with nature rather than against it.

Charlotte’s work focuses on pollination in field beans and, specifically, the role wildflower margins can play in attracting pollinators into crops. Speaking to episode host, Ben Pike, she explains why beans are more reliant on insect activity than many growers might assume, what happens when pollinators are encouraged to spend more time in and around bean crops, and how relatively simple habitat features could make a measurable difference to performance.

A major part of Charlotte’s research involves on farm trials during the bean flowering period ...