Pinto and navy beans are sensitive to frost.
Earlier pods coloured yellow to brown are sufficiently mature to escape damage, but late green pods or flowers are easily damaged. Green beans will shrivel but should be left in the field until dry to separate them from mature beans.Ê
Harvest at the maximum moisture permissible of about 17-18 percent moisture for navy beans and 14-16 percent for pinto beans. When beans are drier, combine damage mounts.
Keep frost-damaged or late-maturing beans separate from better quality beans. This may mean harvesting low-frosted places in a field separately. The high areas probably are drier and will crack badly if allowed to stand until later beans are ready.
