Lipeng Huang

Hangzhou Shuangmiao Maitian Agricultural Development Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, 311314, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Bioscience Methods, 2026, Vol. 17, No. 5   
Received: 11 Aug., 2026    Accepted: 15 Sep., 2026    Published: 28 Sep., 2026

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Sword bean (Canavalia gladiata) is an important leguminous crop with high nutritional value, strong environmental adaptability, and potential applications in sustainable agricultural systems. However, its growth performance and productivity are strongly influenced by cultivation conditions and management practices. This review summarizes the effects of different management strategies, including nutrient management, water regulation, cultivation practices, and environmental control, on the growth characteristics of sword bean. The morphological development, physiological responses, biomass accumulation, and yield formation processes of sword bean under different management conditions are systematically discussed. Nutrient management, particularly the balanced application of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and organic amendments, plays a critical role in promoting vegetative growth, improving photosynthetic efficiency, and enhancing nutrient use efficiency. Water availability and environmental factors such as temperature and light intensity further regulate root development, physiological activity, and stress adaptation capacity. In addition, cultivation practices, including planting density, tillage methods, intercropping, and crop rotation, influence canopy structure, resource utilization, and final productivity. A case study based on integrated management practices demonstrates that optimized combinations of fertilization, irrigation, and field management can significantly improve sword bean growth traits, yield performance, and agricultural sustainability. Despite these advances, further research is needed to clarify the interactions among genotype, environment, and management practices using physiological, molecular, and digital agricultural approaches. Future efforts should focus on developing precise and sustainable cultivation systems to maximize the production potential of sword bean. Overall, improving management practices provides an effective pathway for enhancing sword bean growth, productivity, and ecological benefits in modern agricultural systems.

Sword bean; Growth characteristics; Management practices; Nutrient management; Sustainable cultivation