In order to study the potential use of common bean green leaves in human nutrition, three experiments were carried out in 1999/2000, one in Viçosa and two in Coimbra, municipalities of the Zona da Mata area, State of Minas Gerais. A complete randomized block design with four replications was used. Six cultivars from Viçosa experiment were used for both sensorial test and determination of green leaves production. In Coimbra's first experiment, the effect of nitrogen fertilization on the cultivars Pérola and Ouro Negro was evaluated, when both were submitted to 33% defoliation at flowering until the pod-filling stage. In Coimbra's second experiment, a factorial of three levels of defoliation (33%, 66%, and 100%) x four plant ages (25, 40, 55, and 70 days after plant emergence) plus a control treatment (no defoliation) was analysed using the cultivar Ouro Negro. It was verified that green leaves of most bean cultivars had an acceptance similar to that of collard leaves (Brassica oleraceae var. acephala), a popular vegetable in Brazil. Common beans could yield from 0.4 to 1.5 t/ha of green leaves with 33% defoliation. Chemical composition of these leaves was similar to that of collard leaves. Nitrogen fertilization increased the yield of green leaves, seeds and leaf protein. The most adequate time for defoliation was before flowering and should not exceed 33%.
Phaseolus vulgaris; Brassica oleracea var. acephala; defoliation; sensorial evaluation; nitrogen fertilization; green leaves yield
