Farmer participatory varietal evaluation of French bean in Western Ghats of Erode district, Tamil Nadu

French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an important protein rich vegetable crop cultivated in Western Ghats of Erode district of Tamil Nadu. Farmer participatory on-farm trials were conducted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, MYRADA in Erode district for evaluating French bean varieties for maximizing productivity and nutritional security among the hilly regions during rabi 2019. Results indicated that yield attributing characters such as pod length, pod weight and yield were significantly influenced by the varieties. The highest pod length of 13.88 cm and 100-pod weight of 559.00 gram were observed in Arka Arjun followed by 11.02 cm pod length and 531.00 gram test weight recorded in Arka Sharath. The pod yield of 13.70 and 13.16 tonne/ha was recorded in Arka Arjun and Arka Sharath respectively. The lower yield of 10.20 tonne/ha was recorded in Arka Komal variety. Similarly the higher gross return and net return of Rs 2,87,700/ha and 2,01,180/ha respectively were recorded in Arka Arjun followed by Arka Sharath and Arka Komal varieties. The benefit-cost ratio was recorded 3.32 in Arka Arjun and lower of 2.57 in Arka Komal variety. Based on the results it can be concluded that Arka Arjun and Arka Sharath may be adopted for higher productivity and profitability in the region.